Through The Portal
by Darthlane
Summary: What happened that night thirty years ago? Why did Stanley disappear? What is the true purpose of the portal? What does Bill have to do with all of this? More importantly, what does Stan have to do with this? It could be more perilous than anyone realizes. I do not own Gravity Falls.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello guys!**

**More than anything I have ever written, I have put my heart and soul into this. I mean, just look at it! This chapter alone is over 10,000 words! That's ridiculous! It took forever to write this. But it was worth it. I really like how it turned out, and I hope you do to. In case you didn't know, this is based off of information learned in the Gravity Falls episode "Not What He Seems." If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend watching it IMMEDIATELY then promptly returning to read this. This is set 30 years in the past and is about what happened with Grunkle Stan and *spoiler alert* his brother Stanley that led to him being tossed in the portal for thirty years. I hope you enjoy it, I enjoyed writing it!**

**EDIT 8/18/15**

**Please keep in mind that when I intitially wrote this it was after "Not What He Seems" but before "A Tale of Two Stans." Thus there are some things learned in later episodes that don't match up with things that happen in the story. For example, We learn that Stan Pines, as in the one that has been taking care of Dipper and Mabel all summer, is actually named Stanley. In this story, however, he is still Stanford. Vice versa. Uncle Ford is named Stanley in this story. Their names are switched, got it? Good!**

Chapter 1

"No! You can't have them!" Stanley Pines shouted in his gruff voice as he burst through the door of his bunker. He ran up the creaking wooden steps he had built himself not so long ago. It struck him as he ran that his bunker, the amazing place he had built to survive the apocalypse he knew was coming, would never be used now. All that work, wasted. Losing his experiments, especially the shapeshifter, would be a huge disappointment after all the work he had put into them. At least the food would still be there when he got back. If he got back.

But now wasn't the time to worry about that. He had bigger problems. Much bigger.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Came a sing song voice from below. There was an ominous yellow light filtering through from below. Stanley forced himself to look away from the magnificent yellow and keep running.

"I can sure as hell try!" Stanley shouted back as he ran up the steps. "Just because I'm a bookworm doesn't mean I will be easy to catch!"

"Easy or not, I will catch you in the end." The demon answered ominously. "I always get what I want, Six Fingers. No matter how smart or lucky you happen to be I will win in the end."

Stanley finally emerged from the pit that held his bunker. The moon shined high overhead, as if to get a better view of the events happening below it. Stanly found himself surrounded by a forest, a mass of trees that he had known since he was a mere boy. His home, Gravity Falls. He let himself drift away for a fraction of a second. He let himself just breathe in the pine scented air, hear the chirping of the crickets, feel the needles beneath his boots. The Oregon wilderness was as beautiful as ever.

But a fraction of a second was all he could afford. He was running again, desperate to get away. If he was caught, Bill Cipher would show no mercy and everything Stanley had worked for would be gone.

"Gotta think, gotta think." He muttered as he ran. He swerved in between several trees, moving like a rabbit to not leave a single line trail. Bill was much faster so Stanley had to confuse him as well as he could. If Bill chased in the wrong direction that would help Stanley to no end. "I need someone I can trust. Just someone to help, or I'm never going to make it. I can't fight him alone."

Who could he trust? Dad was gone now. Stanford had abandoned him. His assistant, Fiddleford McGucket, had abandoned him. Even his wife, taking their son with her, had abandoned him. He had no one left.

But there had to be someone still willing to give him a chance. There had to be someone who had the capacity to forgive him for everything he had done. Yes, he had forgotten his friends and family, everything that really mattered, to seek after secrets he never should have chased. It had ultimately been his undoing, and he regretted it completely. Who wouldn't, considering how everything had panned out? Maybe someone would recognize that and give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe.

He suddenly tripped over a tree root in the dark forest. He tumbled through the leaves and dirt. He was stopped rather abruptly by crashing into another tree. He felt an intense pain in his arm and heard a sharp crack. He let out a cry as his right arm broke upon impact with the tree.

"I heard that! Where are youuuuuu?" A voice called in the darkness of the magical but deadly woods. The yellow light was close. Way too close.

Stanley forced himself to stand up and begin running again. "As powerful as you are you still can't see everything." He muttered. Little did he know that a book had slipped from his pocket when he had crashed into the tree. A little book, filled with secrets, with a six fingered hand and a bold 3 on the cover.

He ran and he ran, desperate to put some distance between him and the demon triangle that wanted to stop him so badly. He knew without looking that Bill was on the scent and following his trail like a bloodhound. A floating, crazy bloodhound. Stanley ducked under branches and jumped over roots. He couldn't afford to be slowed down.

As he ran he hit his hurt arm on a branch and hissed as his arm felt a renewed fire of pain burst in his arm. Yeah, it was definitely broken. He would have to try to get back with just one usable arm if he could. He held his hurt arm to his chest to protect it from any further obstructions and forced himself to keep moving. He had to keep moving or he was dead.

He emerged suddenly from the tree line. Confused by his sudden change of environment, Stanley skidded to a halt. He quickly realized he had happened upon the new diner that had opened recently. Stanley remembered that it was owned by some woman that showed up in town not that long ago. What was her name? Suzie? No, that didn't sound right, but it was close. Susan? That felt better.

Stanley ran inside to hide from Bill Cipher. He knew the triangular demon wouldn't search where there happened to be a lot of humans if he could help it. For Bill, secrecy and mystery were still his greatest weapons against the human race. Stanley realized he might also find a phone in there. He desperately needed to find someone to help him survive the night. The various customers were spread out throughout the diner in small groups of two's and three's, and most looked up in surprise at his arrival. Stanley understood why. He hadn't been out in public much recently. He walked straight up to the beautiful, young, blond owner, Susan. To his surprise, she cried out "Stan Pines! You're back already!"

He was at a loss for words. He couldn't remember having ever set foot in this place before, or meeting her in person. How did she even know him?

The answer came to him, and it was like a slap to the face. Stanford. Somehow, someway, Susan had seen him and mistaken Stanley for his twin. It was the only explanation.

But how was it possible? Stan had left town a few years back, blaming Stanley for the problems that had plagued their family. He had left to get away from Stanley and all the bitterness that he associated with his brother. Stanley knew that it was his fault that Stanford had left and had tried desperately to find him again. But he had failed to find him, so Stanford had for all intents and purposes disappeared from the face of the earth. Why would he come back now?

Stanley realized that Susan was still waiting for him to react. "Oh, uh, yes. Yes I am. I'm Stan. Uh, how long ago was I here?"

Stanley knew that now that his brother was back, he would have to find him. Stan would be the perfect person to help him survive. Surely he could put behind his ill feelings toward Stanley long enough to help. His brother wasn't the kind of person to leave him in his time of need. Besides, who better to help him stop Bill Cipher than the other Mystery Twin? It was like the stars had aligned to give him one last chance at a miracle, to fix the mistakes he had made in the past.

"About two hours ago, of course. Don't you remember?"

"Uh, yes." Stanley answered. "Say Susan, what did I do while I was here, exactly?"

"Did you forget or something? What, did you get your memory stolen?" She laughed at the idea, but quickly stopped when Stanley didn't join her. He didn't find it funny in the slightest. "Um, you were flirting with me, remember? You had all these great jokes." She nudged him. "You must get all the girls, don't you Stanford? You sly dog, you!"

"Heh heh, that's me all right." Stanley said nervously. He knew he was doing a terrible job impersonating his brother. "Stan Pines, the ladies' man. So, did you happen to see which way I went when I left?"

Susan frowned. "Actually, I don't think I did." Stanley's heart sank. How was he supposed to find his brother now? As soon as his hopes had risen they were crushed once more.

Susan held up a slip of paper. "But it's lucky for me that you left me your number before you left." She waved the paper, proud of her prize.

"Perfect!" Stanley exclaimed. "I mean, can I see it, please? I messed up the number so I need to fix it for you. Ya know, so you can call me."

"Sure!" Susan said excitedly. Stanley snatched the paper away. "Wow, that's responsible of you. Coming back to make sure I don't call some stranger. Where have all the gentlemen like you gone these days?"

"Yeah, that's me." Stanley said absentmindedly as he began dialing Stan's number in the phone. "Mister responsible. Hey can you give me some privacy for a minute? It's a personal call."

"Sure thing, you sweet pea!" She flashed him her best smile as she went to the other end of the counter to give him space. She pretended to wipe the counter with a dirty rag as she watched him, drooling slightly. Stanley tried to ignore her as he waited for Stan to pick up. She was starting to get really creepy.

After a moment Stan answered the phone. "Hello? Is this Susan? Cause all my nights are full until next Tuesday, so a date is going to have to wait, doll. Hello?"

Stanley didn't answer for a moment. Hearing his brother's voice again after so long, it was a strange moment. He couldn't get himself to speak for a moment. He hadn't expected to be effected this way. He came back to his senses and said softly, "No. It's me."

There was a long pause. After what seemed like forever. Finally he heard, "Stanley?"

"Yeah, brother. It's me." He still wasn't sure how Stan was going to react. Would he still be mad? No, of course he would. But would he be mad enough to abandon him?

"You... You shouldn't have called, Stanley." Stan's voice sounded rougher than usual. "Not after everything that happened."

"I know, Stan." Stanley answered. "Look, I'm sorry for all of that. Believe me, I would take it all back if I could. I wish I could go back and fix it all."

"Well you can't." Stan spat back. "You ruined everything and there is nothing you can do to fix it."

"I know." Stanley said with a sigh. "Knowing that tears me apart every day. It probably always will. But Stan, I need you to put that aside for now. Please. Because I need you."

"What are you talking about?" Stan asked suspiciously. "Stanley, are you in trouble with someone? I swear if I have to bail you out of some debt-"

"No, it's nothing like that." Stanley said quickly. He silently wished it were as simple as paying back money. At least then he didn't have to worry about the safety of the world. "It's about what I found. All the information that I discovered. Stan, it's all so much more important than you would have believed. I found out something that we need-"

"No!" Stan shouted over the phone. "No way! If it has to do with those stupid mysteries you were always chasing, I don't want any part of it. You're on your own. Those damn things ruined my life, and I'm not going to let you drag me back into it. I thought you would have learned by now, Stanley. Nothing good is coming from those damn mysteries."

"Stan, please." Stanley pleaded. He had to get Stan's help. He just had to. "I might be killed. The person who's after me, he is more powerful than you could possibly imagine. He has to be stopped. I'm the only one who knows how, but I can't do it alone. I need you, Stan."

There was a long pause. Stanley waited, hoping that his prayers would be answered and he wouldn't have to fight Bill alone.

"Fine." Stan said gruffly. "But it's only because you're my brother. I swear, the minute I have to look for some clue or something I'm leaving. Understand? I'm done with that life. So what do you need me for?"

"Thank you, Stan. Really. Okay, what I need you to do is go to my house." Stanley checked his watch. Somehow the timer was down to forty minutes. Had he really spend so much time running from Bill? There had still been almost an hour and a half left when he had fled the bunker. Boy, was he losing track of things "I need you there in the next forty minutes. It is very important that you get there as fast as possible."

"Your house? Are you still in that run down place outside of town? That house was a piece of shit. It didn't help that you never took care of it. I would hate to live there." Stanley heard a chuckle at the other end.

"Yeah, I'm still there. Laugh it up." Stanley said quickly. "Just get there, Stan. And make sure you hurry. It is vital you get there soon."

"Yeah, yeah." Stan said casually. "I got it. But you owe me now."

"Yes." Stanley said softly. "More than you know." It was too bad he wouldn't be able to pay Stan back. Probably better not to mention that yet.

There was a click and Stanley knew that his brother had hung up. All too soon Stanley was alone again. His reconnection with Stan was over now and he was all alone in the world again. Far, far too alone.

He put the phone up and handed back the slip of paper to Susan. "Ooh thank you!" She squealed, delighted to have someone to call. As she examined the slip of paper Stanley noticed that her purse was just to his left. He knew it was wrong to do, but he had no choice. He had to make it to his house on time at all costs, and compared to the end of the world this was an easy price to pay. While Susan was still distracted by the paper whose number was mysteriously the same as before, Stanley slipped his hand in and pulled out her car keys. They jingled slightly as he pulled them out and he hid them behind his back. This was it. He was entering the life of crime. Then again, he considered, hadn't stealing the vats of nuclear waste been stealing as well? It hadn't felt the same as this. Actually seeing the person he was stealing from and knowing that they actually depended on it made this feel completely different. At least with the vats he was doing the world a favor by getting rid of them. They were dangerous and could hurt someone if he didn't use them as fuel. But this, stealing from Susan, that was just plain thievery. It was what his parents had always taught him was wrong, that he should never do.

But it was necessary, and that was all that mattered.

"Hey Susan." She looked up. "Which of those cars out there happens to be yours?" Before he could stop himself he pointed with his right arm at the parking lot. He let out a hiss of pain. Damn. Why couldn't he have just watched where he was going in the woods? His hurt arm made it impossible to do just about everything.

"Stan, are you okay?" Susan asked, concerned. "Did something happen to your arm?" A couple of the customers were watching now, interested as to why he was injured. One was Deputy Blubbs, who rose from his seat at the booth to see what was going on.

"It's nothing." He growled. "Don't worry about it. Just tell me which car is yours." He cradled his hurt arm to ease the ache he felt. He knew already that his arm was in very bad condition, but he didn't have the time to get it checked out. He would just have to deal with it as best he could.

"It's the silver car at the back over there, although I don't see what it has to do with- Ahhh!" She squealed as Stanley suddenly broke into a sprint for the door. "Wha- What? Stan! Stanford Pines! What in heaven's sake are you doing?"

Stanley ignored her as he was out the door and onto the concrete parking lot. He heard the door slam shut behind him. He didn't have the time or the inclination to answer her pleas. He already had misgivings for what he was doing. He didn't think he could go through with it if he tried to say anything back, even an apology.

He reached the car and unlocked it quickly. As he got into the driver's seat he heard Susan shout from across the parking lot, "Hey! That's my car! What do you think you're doing, Stanford Pines? Why are-" Her voice cut off when he closed the door of the car. He started the engine and started pulling out. In the rearview mirror he saw Susan and a couple of the customers running his way. Deputy Blubbs, fat as he was, had fallen behind the others and was already out of breath. The others weren't much closer. He chuckled. They weren't going to catch him. He turned back and almost jumped out of his skin.

"Son of a bitch!" He roared. Ahead of his stolen car and heading his way at a fast pace was none other than Bill Cipher. He looked angry as he floated above the forest towards the car. The floating triangle had blue flames coming from his thin black hands. Unfortunately, what the blue fire did was one of the many things Stanley did not know about the Dream Demon he faced.

"I told you, Six Fingers." The triangle's voice projected despite him not actually having a mouth. "I won't allow you to get away from me! I will not be defeated by a bag of flesh when I am a being of pure power and imagination! It's unthinkable. Stop right now, Stan Pines!"

Stanley stomped on the gas. The tires squealed as they burned skid marks and the pavement and the care jerked forward. Stanley didn't ease despite the danger of driving so fast in a semi-crowded parking lot. He knew he had to get away as fast as he possibly could. Being caught by Bill would be much worse than any car crash. If Bill got ahold of him he would be helpless to fight back, and he didn't even know what kind of horrible things the demon could possibly do to him.. He swerved to the left, ignoring the small path that connected the parking lot and the road and driving through the grass. His car bounced as it went over a drainage dip and onto the old road. He skidded over the pavement as he turned the car with just his good hand and accelerated away. Bill was close behind, hands blazing with scary blue fire. Stanley cringed when he saw the triangle so close. For just a moment Stanley thought he had been caught, that everything he had worked for had been undone. But then the car steadily pulled away from the evil shape chasing him. He sighed in relief. He was safe for the moment. Stanley quickly checked the speedometer. It read forty-five miles an hour and climbing as the car continued to accelerate. So that was Bill's limit. It would be very useful to know in the future. Soon Bill was out of sight, lost in the chase. Stanley let out another sigh of relief. He was well on track to complete his mission. As long as he didn't run afoul of any more bad luck there was a good chance he might actually stop Bill and his plans.

He turned his attention to what he had to do when he got back to his house. It was crazy, it was dangerous, it likely wouldn't work, but it was all that could possibly have a chance of beating Bill Cipher. He went over the equations in his head, equations he had learned through painstaking research about his machine. He nodded to himself. Everything checked out. In theory, his plan should work. He turned his attention to any variables that might have an impact on how tonight might turn out. There was Stan, of course, and possibly the Society of the Blind Eye. They were sure to have heard of Stanley's theft already. They had agents everywhere and would stop at nothing to keep the secrets of Gravity Falls secrets. They wouldn't hesitate to erase Stanley's memory if they got the chance. They had tried to do twice already, and Stanley had barely escaped with his memories intact. If they somehow got to him, all would be lost. He turned his mind to anything else that might surprise him tonight. Was he forgetting anything?

Several minutes later he was most of the way home when the tires suddenly lifted from the ground. The car was suspended in mid air, slowly rising through the night sky. The wheels spinned uselessly in the air, no longer moving forward. Now the car, and Stanley with it, was floating upward. That didn't work with Stanley. It was definitely the wrong direction.

"Dammit!" He shouted. The anti gravity that would be showing up had completely slipped his mind. How could he just forget about such an important detail? It wasn't like him at all. But now wasn't the time to worry about that. He flung the door open and hauled himself out the open door. He wanted to be out before the car got too high and he especially didn't want to still be in the car when gravity returned. That would be something he wasn't likely to survive. He pushed off from the car to float away from the road. He would much rather land in the grass the hard pavement.

After a couple more moments gravel returned and he and the car, as well as anything else in town that had left the ground, fell back down. He landed hard in the grass. He took special care to avoid landing on his broken arm. Instead he felt another bone give in his left leg.

He screamed, facing the sharp agony of a newly broken limb to go with the duller but still painful arm. He sat in the grass, sobbing quietly for a moment. He shivered as his sweat cooled in the night air. He was scared. Now that he had injured another limb beating Bill and saving the world seemed much farther off to him. Was he ever going to make it to his house? It seemed like he kept running into obstacle after obstacle, and they were definitely taking their toll. He was already down two limbs and Bill hadn't even layer a finger on him yet.

That woke him from his doubts like a slap to his face. Bill Cipher! He wouldn't be far behind, and he would show no mercy to Stanley if he were to find him. Stanley knew all too well what the triangle was capable of, and it was certain to be absolutely horrible. And, he thought wryly, as mysterious as that damn triangle is there is undoubtedly much more to him than that. There was no telling what that demon could do. Stanley had no idea what the limits were to his powers, or if he even had any. He would prefer not to find out.

He scrambled up to his good leg and limped as fast as he could to the car. He pulled out the tweezers he had borrowed from Stan when they were teenagers but always forgot to return. Even through the great pain he was in, he was able to conjure up a small smile at the memories of his teenage years, the days he had spent happily with his brother Stan. It seemed so long ago now. The farther away it got the more he realized how stupid he was to throw it all away. If only he could go back…

He shook the thoughts away. He had work to do. He crawled under the car and snipped the brake line. Now if anyone found the vehicle they would assume that it had been a murder. If they thought he was dead they wouldn't be looking for him, they would look for a murderer. They wouldn't have any reason to search his house and possibly find what lay beneath. This was the only way to truly keep it safe. He got back up and slowly made his way to the tree line. He almost fell again but managed to lean onto a tree in time. As he limped through the dark forest that encompassed Gravity Falls he checked his watch to discover that he only had twenty-eight minutes left. Damn! That wasn't nearly enough time. He might make it there in maybe twenty-five minutes at his hobbling pace if he was lucky. But that didn't leave nearly enough time to prepare and tell Stanford what he needed to know.

He realized he needed to find a way to get to his house faster. He wondered if maybe a walking stick would help. He looked above him to examine any branches that might suit his purposes. Most of the ones within reach were either too thick to break off or too thin and spindly to support him as he walked. He spotted a usable stick a few paces away and hobbled to it. He put his bad hand gently onto the nearest tree for support as he reached up to grab his chosen branch. He tugged at it and a couple of cracks as it started severing from the rest of the tree.

"C'mon, you son of a bitch." He said raggedly. He knew that he would have to pull harder if he wanted it to snap off. He shifted more weight into his right hand to raise himself a little higher. It was excruciating and he was forced to clamp his mouth shut to force the tortured groans from being heard. He didn't want to leave any noise in case Bill Cipher was nearby.

By using the tree to raise himself higher he was able to get a better grip on the branch and break it off with one final pull.

He fell to his good knee, cradling his hard fought prize. Now with a stick to support him he could probably travel much faster and shave off some time. He got up painfully and walked assisted by his new cane as fast as he could manage.

It was hard, injured as he was, but he still managed. He had a tough time with the foliage that battled him as he tried to reach his house. He wasn't able to go particularly fast, but it was still a lot faster than he would have gone without the support of his new stick.

He glanced back down at his watch. Eighteen minutes. He had no idea how far away his house was, but he couldn't imagine it being too far. He covered a surprisingly large amount of ground. He felt that he might get there in as soon as five or ten minutes. He knew he shouldn't get over confident, but he had a feeling that he might actually accomplish what he set out to do. He could be one step closer to saving the world.

Of course, it was at that moment that Stanley heard an all too familiar voice in the distance behind him. He flattened himself out of sight against a tree.

"I know you're out here, Six-Fingers." Bill Cipher called out into the darkness. "I will catch you, and you're not gonna like what happens after that. No ho ho, not at all. But guess what! I am prepared to offer you a rather lucrative deal if you surrender yourself. You can save yourself from what I plan on doing to you, and I might even throw in some generous gifts to go with it. I don't wanna ruin the mystery, but I think you would love what you get from your side of the deal."

Bill's voice was far too close for comfort. Stanley guessed the dream demon couldn't he more than ten meters away. There was no way Stanley would survive if he tried to run for it now. He had to hope that against all miracles he wasn't discovered. That was his only chance. The world's only chance.

"All I want is for you to come out peacefully and surrender. It's not hard at all to just listen to a couple words, is it? Just show yourself. If you just come out and talk I promise not to hurt you. And I keep my promises, believe me. Just bring yourself and those precious little journals too. Then the fun can really begin!"

Bill came floating right by the tree Stanley was hiding behind. Stanley held his breath and tried to remain as still as possible. Amazingly, Bill didn't see him as he passed by. "We don't have to be enemies, Six-Fingers. I always respected you, because you were able to do things no one else could. You were able to see the signs of the paranormal, you were able to discover the mysteries of this town. I like the way you think, and I know we could make good friends, like we were not so long ago. Just give me the journals. Sounds like a good deal, eh?"

The triangle paused for a moment. "Well I guess he isn't over here. Humans never seem to listen when I say something." He did something that looked kind of like shrugging. "Well, I'm just going to have to destroy them all. I guess I'll look a little farther in. Six-Fingers has to be around somewhere." He suddenly zoomed off singing, "She asked me, 'Son, when I grow old, will you build me a house of gold? And when your father turns to stone, will you take care of me?'" Stanley was unable to make out any more words as the demon disappeared like a bright yellow bullet. He let out a huge breath. That was far too close.

He started moving again. He had to get moving. He didn't have time...

He marched on through the pain, never letting his weaknesses get the better of him. He couldn't allow them to. At times he fell, his leg unable to hold him up and his arm not willing to help him get back to his feet. It hurt so much. A big part of him just wanted to stop and sleep, to let the evil that threatened Gravity Falls and even the world win. Part of him even wanted to accept Bill Cipher's deal. But he forced himself to keep going. He knew that he had to make it, he just had to. His brother Stanford needed him to. Fiddleford McGucket needed him to. But most of all, his child, wherever Stanley's wife had taken him, needed Stanley to succeed. Stanley refused to let his child live in a world under evil's cruel boot. He would make sure that Bill was stopped, no matter what the cost.

He suddenly emerged from the trees right in front of his house, a massive building that had been standing there for decades. He let out a sigh of relief. He had made it. He checked his watch. Still twelve minutes left until it happened. "Shit." He muttered. He had time to prepare, but he would have to hurry.

He climbed up the porch and banged on the crooked wooden front door. It opened almost immediately, his brother Stanford illuminated in the doorway. His brother Stanford, who Stanley hadn't seen in years. Stan looked the same as ever, just a little bit older than before. He still had the same scruffy brown hair, stern face, and large nose. Stanley had never been happier to see anyone before.

"Stanford." He said. "Thank God, you made it." He held out his uninjured, six fingered left hand. Stan glanced at his right hand and saw the injury.

"Stanley! What the hell? How did you get injured?" He pulled his brother into the house. He saw Stanley's leg and swore. "What happened to you? You look like you were in a car accident."

Stanley groaned. "You have no idea, Stanford. How did you get in here, anyway?"

Stanford let out a light laugh. "You left the key hidden the same spot you hid it before. Under that rock that looks like a face."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Stanley said. "Follow me, Stan. We have work to do." He limped quickly into the next room and opened the door to his right. It was the door that held his greatest secrets, the entrance to his basement. He swung the door open and hobbled down the stairs. He went faster than his damaged leg wanted but he didn't care. He had far more important problems than his leg.

Stan followed close behind. "Stanley!" Stan cried. "What- where are you going? Get back here! You're injured! What the hell do you think you are doing?" He tried to grab Stanley's arm and pull him back up, but Stanley pulled away.

"My injuries aren't important, Stan." He said gruffly. "What's important is that you follow me. That's all that matters right now."

"No!" Stan said. "I'm not following you anywhere until you tell me what's going on. You keep speaking in half-baked riddles and unexplained orders. You might be older than me, Stanley, but you will never tell me what to do. Now I want to know what's going on." He crossed his arms and waited expectantly.

Stanley sighed impatiently. They didn't have time for this. His brother's stubbornness could ruin everything. "Stan, what's happening is the end of the world. As in the apocalypse. The end. What I'm trying to do is more important than you could possibly imagine. Evil forces are trying to destroy everything in this world. We can slow them down, right here in just ten minutes, and possibly make a difference in the final battle later on. But I'm gonna need you to help me if we're going to have a shot."

"The world is ending?" Stan scoffed. "That's what you've come up with? Are you kidding me?" He bared his teeth and he raised his voice. "Are you kidding me?!" He grabbed Stanley and pressed him against the wall. Stanley's walking stick clattered to the bottom of the stairs."You caused everything! Back then, all of that was your fault. You were just being a selfish bastard! When Dad was getting sicker who was there for him? Me! And who was off searching for fucking leprechauns and narwhaltaurs or whatever they were? You! He was sick and getting worse and you were gone. Gone! Every morning he would ask if you were home, and every night before he went to sleep he would ask if you had dropped by. But you never did. Not even once. Not until it was too late. Honestly, I don't care what you discovered, Stanley. You were gone when we needed you most. You didn't care. And now I come back thinking you needed me, and that we were going to at least try to be a family again, but you know what I find? You, doing the same damn shit. Still have your nose in those stupid journals you wrote, trying to find more and more mysteries. Family is always going to come second for you, isn't it?"

Stanley couldn't find an answer at first. Stan's words had hit him like a massive slap to the face. The worst part was that they were all completely true. Stanley couldn't deny a single word.

"You're right." Stanley croaked, letting himself drop from Stan's grip to the ground. "I put family second. I wasn't there when you guys needed me. I was stuck in the mysteries of this town, desperate to solve everything. Looking back I regret it so much. I was a fool. I should have known that family is so much more important than any mystery. I messed up, and there is nothing I can do about it. Believe me Stan, if there is anything I regret in my life, anything I wish I could take back, it's that night."

Stanley pulled himself back up to his feet. "Understand this, Stan. I can't take back what happened, and I can't make up for it. Not ever. But I can sure as hell try to prevent anything from happening again. I don't want to lose anyone else. You, my kid, and my wife, you guys are all that I have left. Ever since Dad died, ever since you left town, I have been studying, researching. I didn't do it to figure out any mysteries. I did it because I knew something bad was coming and I had to stop it at all costs. I'm doing this so you, my wife and my kid aren't killed. I'm doing this so I can protect my family, when I couldn't before. I'm doing this to keep from losing everything I ever cared about. You're all I have left, Stan." He pushed his way past Stan and carefully made his way down the stairs into his dark basement. He picked up his cane and flipped a switch on the wall. A dim light flickered on. "I know you don't give a damn what happens to me anymore, and I don't blame you. But don't forsake my family. For their sake, follow me." He walked down the rest of the steps and around a corner. Stan hesitated, and then followed his brother down the steps. It was probably the stupid thing to do, but as mad as he was at Stanley he couldn't abandon him. He was family.

Around the corner was revealed to be an elevator and a small panel next to it. Stan, who had followed Stanley down, saw his twin brother enter a bunch of weird symbols into the panel and the elevator door opened with a creak. Both Stans stepped in and Stanley pressed some symbols on the inside that sent the elevator down to an even lower level.

All of these symbols were just gibberish to Stan. "Damn, Stanley." He whispered, any resentment forgotten in the wonder of what he was seeing. "What is this place? How long has all of this been down here?"

Stanley smiled. "It's my basement, Stanford. This is where the magic happens." The door opened to reveal a room filled with computers and strange machines. They were all operating at once, making several lights and sounds. There was also a desk, next to which was another door. Stanley led the way through the door in the back of the room, not paying this room any mind. Stan, meanwhile, was looking around in awe at all of the technology around him. He wanted to stay and investigate, but followed Stanley as they walked through the door to what lay beyond.

It was a large room that spanned out much farther than just the dimensions of Stanley's home. It must expand out over the property and possibly beyond. There was various junk lying all around and thick wires running along the floors and walls. It was like some kind of lab from a sci-fi movie. In the middle of the room sat a large device. It was at least forty feet tall, almost reaching the high roof, and shaped like a giant triangle standing on one end. It was made of solid metal and connected to a metal base through many of the thick wires. There was a hole in the middle and a bunch of symbols encircling the hole in the triangle.

Stan's mouth was hanging open in shock. "What the hell is that thing? Is this what you've been working on, Stanley? That's incredible!"

"That's right, Stan. I found directions to the pieces of this thing and I assembled it here. This is gonna be what's going to give us a chance to save the world."

"What is it?" Stan asked apprehensively. He was wary of the machine that Stanley was showing him. He knew instinctively that this machine was very dangerous and powerful. He felt really out of his comfort zone knowing he had to deal with this thing now.

"This is the portal." Stanley said proudly. "It will let anyone travel to any of the various universes that exist, although there is a catch. Its only open for a minute, and it won't open again for thirty years." He checked his watch. "We have about six minutes until it opens."

"Wait. This is a portal? To other places?"

"That's where most portals lead, Stan." Stanley said dryly. He pointed to a barrel. "Bring that and follow me. We don't have much time." Stanley headed back into the room with all of the machinery.

As Stan rolled the heavy barrel after him Stanley spoke. "OK, I'm gonna need you to listen. The end of the world is coming in about thirty years. There are evil forces, demons and the like, that want to destroy everything we have here. We have to stop them by making sure the world is ready to fight back when that day comes in thirty years. Understand? "

Stan grunted as he rolled the barrel over to Stanley, who was now by a machine labeled 'fuel'. "I got it. World is ending 30 years from now, we gotta stop it."

"Stan, I need you to open the top of this and pour what's in into that slot in the machine." Stanley ordered his brother. He hated the fact that he couldn't really help, but he would just get in the way with his injured hand.

Stan peeled off the top using a nearby crowbar to reveal an eerie green liquid with a putrid stench. "Dear God!" Stan said, waving his hand to try to waft away the smell. "What is this shit?"

"Nuclear waste." Stanley answered curtly. "It's the fuel this machine needs. I hate it as much as you do, but it's what the machine needs to work so we gotta live with it."

Stan just shrugged. He had already done much weirder stuff in his past couple of years. He had spent those years doing some very unsavory work. He had already visited a few prisons and was closely watched by the authorities because of those…. odd jobs.

He lifted the extremely heavy barrel with a grunt. He tipped the contents into the slot where is slid down into the machine and was soon out of sight. Strangely, every single drop drifted down despite the consistency most liquids have, making them stick. It was almost like the stuff was being absorbed by the machine itself.

"So what exactly are we dealing with?" Stan asked. "What exactly is going to destroy the world in thirty years, and what does that machine in there have to do with it?" Stanley appreciated that his story's validity wasn't questioned. Stan probably remembered the crazy things they had found as kids and knew Stanley couldn't possibly be making it up.

"An agent of the evil forces of the Nightmare Realm, a dream demon known as Bill Cipher, is here in town." Stanley told his twin. "He is going to try to get rid of the knowledge I found out about his plans so that humanity is defenseless when it happens. The reason we need this portal is because we need to make sure he can't destroy that knowledge. Humanity needs to know what it will be up against in thirty years. I made sure that there would be multiple copies of this knowledge so that it will be harder to destroy. I want to send one of the copies away in the portal so it will be out if his reach. That way it's guaranteed to still be ready for us when we need it 30 years from now when the portal returns."

"Damn." Stan said. "That's a lot to take it at once. So there's a demon thingy called Bill trying to kill us all. He is trying to take you and anyone else who knows about this out, along with anywhere else you have this stuff. And to be sure we still have that information when the battle comes along you are sending it away in the portal so this Bill guy can't get at it. Is that it?"

Stanley nodded. "Exactly right."

"Well, you said copies. Where all do you have this stuff?" Stan asked. "Also, where is this portal even taking it?"

"I have absolutely no idea where the portal is taking the copy." Stanley said sadly. "There has to be thousands of places that could be at the end of the tunnel. I truly don't know."

Stan pondered that for a moment. "What about that information? What is this Bill guy is trying to get rid of? Where is that?"

"It's in my head, Fiddleford knows it, and it's in my journals. Speaking of which, here. I want you to read it so that you have the information too. The more people we trust that know this, the better." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the first journal. "Whoa! Where's the other one?" He searched around his person and found nothing. He must have lost it at some point on his way here. He knew he had definitely had it when he had left the bunker.

"Damn. The third journal is missing." He flipped through the first one, checking for damage. Thankfully, the journal was in perfect condition.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Stan asked.

"I have three journals, Stan. They go over everything I have ever discovered about this town and all the things that inhabit it. Also in each of them is what's going to happen in 30 years, but I put it in a way so that it's hidden. You might not be able to figure it out unless you have all three." He handed the journal, which Stan immediately leafed through.

"Where are the other two?" Stan asked as he skimmed through the contents of the first journal.

"The second journal is with Fiddleford. The third one I lost just a few minutes ago on my way here. Perhaps it's better that way. It will be impossible for Bill to find."

"Who's Fiddleford?" Stan asked. "You've mentioned him a few times."

"Fiddleford was my assistant after you left. He was fine with working with me until about a month ago. He suddenly got cold feet and quit the job. I made him take the journal with him for safekeeping after he left. You should contact him as soon as possible after I'm gone."

Stan almost jumped back in surprise. "Wait a minute! What do you mean you'll be gone? You can't go anywhere! We just got back together!"

Stanley smiled sadly. "I told you, didn't I? One of the copies of that information has to go where Bill can't possibly follow to make sure he doesn't destroy it completely. Who better to go than me? I'm the one he would find the easiest here, and he doesn't even know about you. And once I'm gone everyone else will be safe from him. There is no one I trust more to adapt to the unknown and I wouldn't be able to live with myself I'd I sent you or anyone else. It has to be me."

Before Stanford could protest a loud beep suddenly rang throughout the room. They both turned to the disturbance, which was coming from an adjacent room. They both went inside the room, which held a bunch of television monitors. They were all connected to a network of cameras that spanned all over Stanley's property. On the top left screen there was a blur of yellow and black.

"Damn. He's here." Stanley muttered. He turned his attention to his watch. "We have a minute-and-a-half until the portal activates, then another minute before it closes. Come on, Stan! We have to hurry!" He hobbled as fast as he could manage back into the room with the portal. There was now a great circle of light in front of it, white except for the edges. The edges were a beautiful display of colors of all shades. Stanley breathed a sigh of relief. The portal machine was working.

Before Stan could gawk at the sight of the portal Stanley grabbed him by the shoulder to get his attention. "Stan, you are the pivotal piece to all of this. No matter what happens to me on the other side of that portal, I will make sure I come back. But I can't do that unless you are here in thirty years to let me return. Do you understand? I need you. Now, this machine is gonna tear itself apart when it's done so I'm gonna need you to be here and put it back together. I'm going to need you to be my eyes and ears while I'm gone. I'm going to need you to look after my wife and my kid. But most of all, I'm going to need you to survive. Do you understand, Stan?"

His brother nodded silently. He was at a loss for words at what was happening. How could he be losing his brother so soon?

"Okay," Stanley said as he tied a rope around his waist, with the connecting end tied to a latch on the floor. "There is going to be an antigravity burst in just a few seconds. Go get under that table in the corner. It's connected to the floor so it won't float away. If Bill gets in here he won't notice you and you will be safe from him for now. When I'm gone, this place and everything here will be yours."

Stan was about to run for the table when Stanley held out his hand. The left one, with its six fingers. The one that had always made Stanley an outcast, even before he became a loner. The one that would always be his identifying mark. "I'll see you in thirty years, bro. Mystery Twins forever."

Stan gripped his brother's hand and shook it, sad smile on his face and tears in his eyes. "Mystery Twins forever. And nothing is going to change that." With one last look back, Stan got under the table entrenched in the corner of the massive room just as the gravity disappeared. He was suddenly floating, the table the only thing keeping him from floating up to the roof. Stanley meanwhile, had floated up a good eight feet off the ground before the rope holding him was strung tight. He waited there floating for the portal to open. He looked around, trying to enjoy his last moments there. This lab would be the last bit of earth he would see. It suddenly occurred to him that he would spend more time at this other place than he had here. Strange. But no matter what he found there, this place, Gravity Falls, would always be his home. Always and forever.

Suddenly there was a burst of energy from the machine as it started to come alive. A new whirlpool of rainbow energy appeared more violent that the lights that had appeared before. The violent energy was circling around an image of stars in the night sky. There was also a loud roaring as the energy flowed through the air. In the corner Stan looked on in wonder at the beautiful sight. He had never seen anything like it.

"Stanley!" He shouted. "What's going on?" But his brother couldn't hear him over the noise. "Stanley!" Stan wasn't sure if this was how it was supposed to work, so he decided to put his faith in Stanley and the machine he had built. Hopefully this would all turn out well.

Stanley glanced at his watch. Seven seconds left. Six, five, four. He glanced over to where Stan was watching on. Three, Two, One. Suddenly there was a big burst of bluish-white light. It filled the whole room, blinding the twins to everything else. For just a moment that might was all that existed. Then it was gone, leaving no trace behind.

Stanley realized he was on the ground. He quickly untied himself. Now that the gravity anomalies that the portal's creation caused were over there was no more need for it. He used his cane to get back to his feet and turned around to face the newly created portal.

There it was, more beautiful than he could have possibly imagined. It was a bright bluish-white, exactly like the light that had filled his vision a moment before. It was a circle of quiet flowing energy, exactly where the vision of the stars had been before. Behind it, the machine was mostly destroyed. Just a few large chucks of metal and a lot of debris. He took a step towards it in the strangely quiet room. Maybe this wasn't such a bad fate. It was so beautiful.

Behind him he heard singing. He turned around and saw a glare of golden light. "Who can you trust? When everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold, gold, gold!" Bill Cipher floated into the room his one eye quickly scanning his surroundings. "Hey-o! What's going on down here? I heard some weird noises coming from down here and thought I'd check to see if there was a party. Turns out there was! And I missed all the fun, too! Shame for not waiting on me, Stanley. You knew I wanted to be here."

"Stop!" Stanley shouted at the demon. Bill had been drifting closer slowly.

"Aww, don't be like that!" Bill said. "I thought we were friends! I'm on your side, remember?" he made a crossing motion over his body where humans had hearts. Stanley greatly doubted that the demon had anything even close

"I trusted you once, and it was the worst mistake I ever made." Stanley hissed at his enemy. "I've learned my lesson about you. You take what people love and you turn it to ash. You take their dreams and crush everything they believe in. You are evil in a way that nothing on this Earth can compare. We are in no way friends, Bill Cipher."

"C'mon, Six Fingers." Bill coaxed, like he was trying to get a cat out of a tree. "We both know what you want, and we both know I can give it to you. Don't you want that? Trust me. I can give you the life you wanted, everything you ever desired. Honestly, I don't see why you wouldn't take my offer to give you your old life back. Look at how much I'm giving you for just a little book! I'm willing to bend time for you! C'mon!"

Stanley felt a pang in his heart. He knew exactly what the triangular demon was talking about. He wanted his dad back, and his family too. He wanted for the last few years to never have happened. He wanted his life back, his life before his damned curiosity had ruined everything. Most of all, he wanted Stan back. Ever since that night his brother had been lost to him. Even now that they were back together it wasn't the same. Too much bad blood and mistrust.

His heart wanted him to take the deal. He knew Bill well enough to know that the demon could make it happen. He wanted it so bad.

He glanced at his watch. Twenty seconds left until the portal disappeared.. Twenty seconds to make a choice. The world? Or his happiness?

"Bill, you always know just what to say to make someone agree. When I was ready to give up all of this back then, you convinced me to keep trying, to keep searching. You have such a silver tongue for somebody defined by their sight. I guess that's what makes you so effective at what you do. For what it's worth, you weren't a bad friend. You gave me exactly what I wanted back then, and it wasn't anything like I had imagined. All the answers, but I didn't have happiness anymore. You took that away from me, and I didn't find out until later how steep of a price that was to pay. It's all my fault in the end. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be in this mess. It's all on me for all of this happening." He glared. "But it's all on me to set it all right. My heart's in the right place now, and I have the power to stop you. As much as it hurts, I can't do take your deal. I can't sacrifice the world to erase my mistakes. No deal, Bill." Stanley glanced at his watch. Five seconds. He whirled around and hobbled as fast as he could. Knowing it was his last chance, he shouted, "Stan, I trust you!" he hoped Stan knew what he meant.

"Behind him he heard Bill shout, "Noooooooo!" And knew he was being chased down. He had to make it. He was so close. Come on!

He slipped through the amazing light. It felt like he was going through water, but he wasn't getting wet. The other side was made of light like the entrance, but it was like a tunnel. He drifted through, almost as though gravity was gone again. Bill's shout was suddenly cut off and Stanley knew that the portal had closed. There was no going back now.

Now he could only trust in the success of the twins. Trust that Stan would be able to bring him back, and trust that he could survive until then. After all, if you couldn't trust family, who could you trust?

In the distance Stanley saw a more concentrated swirl or white and blue energy. It was like where he had arrived, so Stanley guessed it had to be the exit to the portal, or rather the entrance to his new home. His new home. He reflected on that for a second. What would this new place be like? Stanley glanced back in the direction of his old one. The one that had Gravity Falls and with it, Stan. "Mystery Twins forever, bro." He whispered as a single tear came out. "Forever and always."

Then he drifted through the exit and into the realm he would call home for the next thirty years.

**So what did you think? Enjoy it? No? Unsure? Whichever it was, go ahead and let me know in the reviews. For anyone who wants to know, at this point I consider this a one-shot, but I would be more than willing to continue if you guys want more. If you liked it, be sure to follow and favorite the story, because I would certainly appreciate that. You should check out my other stories, Revenge of the Red Lotus (Legend of Korra) and Dragon of the West (Avatar the Last Airbender) as well as the stories my friend Solo Gamer has written. I'm sure you would like them. Lastly, be sure to turn to the dark side (we have cookies!)**

** -Darthlane**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello guys! I know it's been forever since you've heard my lovely voice (or rather read my words) but I'm back with chapter 2 of ****Through the Portal****! Before we start, though, I have some things to say:**

**As you can tell by this being here, you guys convinced me to keep this going. I just want to thank you guys for the support you guys gave me, and I'm glad for the chance to continue this. I love you guys**

**It has been over a month since the first chapter and two and half weeks since I have published anything else. I'm sorry for how long it took to get to this, and I feel really bad for that. I know it's not an excuse, but the main reason I didn't get to this sooner is because my school's library was closing for the end of the year so I tried to fit in as much reading as I could, which in turn cut down the time I spent writing. I hope you guys can forgive me for that.**

**Back in the first chapter I had Bill Cipher enter singing "Gold" by Imagine Dragons and "House of Gold" by Twenty-One Pilots as a joke. Because, you know, it would be just like him to know a gold related song 30 years before it came out. BUT NO ONE COMMENTED ABOUT IT! It broke my heart when the songs weren't even mentioned. I don't mean to be mean, but I was kind of disappointed with you guys. Not really, but I wish someone would have noticed…..**

**As you guys may or may not know, I try to keep my stories as canon relevant as I can. As such, I end up having to do a lot of research and studying for details to make sure I don't contradict anything. Unfortunately for this method (but not for the show itself), Gravity Falls is jam packed with little details and clues, many of which are very hard to find. I won't lie, I missed a few important ones and a few of you let me know about it. I apologize, I tried, but I can't remember everything. I messed up, and I'll probably mess up this chapter and future ones in some way and I apologize beforehand. It's simply something that's gonna happen. But if you can get past that, I hope you will enjoy this chapter and future ones. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

"Nooooooooooo!" The triangle flew towards the portal or flying lights at an amazing speed. Despite its efforts it was too late. With a loud sound that strangely resembled a flushing toilet, the portal closed and disappeared from existence entirely. As suddenly and amazingly as it had appeared it was now gone once again.

Stan couldn't believe it. He gazed at the spot where the portal had been, mouth wide open in shock. It couldn't be true. Stanley was gone. It couldn't- it just- no- HOW COULD HE BE GONE?

The triangle tumbled through the air, his prey suddenly out of reach. Much like Stan it looked all over the room for any surviving trace of the portal, and with it Stanley. Stan scooted back under the table as quietly as he could manage. He didn't know what the fuck this thing was, but if it scared Stanley then he knew it wasn't something to be taken lightly. He could only hope he wasn't seen.

"Aw well." The triangle said, snapping his fingers in disappointment. "I had hoped I could take care of that loose end now, but if he wants to wait thirty years I'll be here waiting for him. Hahaha!" The demon's single eye pointed towards the roof, thinking. "Until that happens, I have to make sure that Glasses and Fez are subdued until I can use them. I also need to take care of these damn journals. And find the others." The strange creature giggled. "Well, it's a good thing I have thirty years!"

With a flash, the triangle turned from yellow to light blue, his hat and limbs turning pale white. He shot off like a firecracker, phasing straight through the roof like a ghost. Even through the mass of concrete and earth Stan could still hear the thing laughing. That laugh scared the crap out of him. It somehow found a way to sound TOO cheerful, like one of those psychotic clowns in the horror movies. All Stan knew was that the less he saw of that triangle the better he would feel.

All too suddenly it was deathly quiet. Stan realized he was alone, completely alone. Not just physically. For the first time in his life, Stanley wasn't there for him. That shocked Stan to his core. No matter how big of fights they had, no matter how long they were separated, the Pines twins had always been able to count on each other, no matter what. In the years after he had left, even though they had been separated by at times thousands of miles, Stan had always known that all he had to do was return to this damn town and Stanley would be here waiting for him. They were there for each other, no matter what. That was what family meant to them.

But now that was gone. It was gone, and Stan had nothing. Just an empty house in a cold, merciless carnival that pretended to be a town. Gravity Falls was truly his Hell.

Stan slowly got out from under the table. He got to his feet carefully, still shaken up by the events that had just transpired. He saw his fez lying on the ground against the concrete wall. It had been blown off of his head by the explosion of energy from the portal opening. He picked it up. "Don't want to forget you, old friend." He said raspily. He placed it back on his head where it belonged, crescent facing forward.

At least he still had this. He remembered when he had first gotten it. His dad had let both of the twins pick out something to get at this old gift shop in New Jersey back when they were kids. Being the nerd he was, Stanley had picked out a massive guidebook to fantasy creatures. Stan distinctly remembered their father being annoyed at Stanley for picking out something so expensive. Stan, not wanting his dad to be mad at him, had picked out a hat he had found for a very cheap price. He had in particular liked the little symbol on there. It was a golden little crescent, which reminded him of night, his favorite time of day. At night he could go without being seen, without being judged. At night he didn't have to face the comparisons to his brother. At night he was free, and the fez helped during the day. He had loved the hat ever since it had been placed upon his head and it had been a part of him ever since.

Good times, he thought. Everything hadn't been quite as shitty back then. Now, however...

Stan gazed around at the wreckage that the room had become. His wreckage, he realized. Stanley had left him the old place. He chuckled. Why could he never escape this damn town? His family had moved here when he and Stanley had been twelve. Stanley had instantly fallen in love with its backwards charms and deep secrets. Stan hadn't, missing their old home in New Jersey. He didn't feel at home in the trees and streams and country folk. He missed the buildings and streets, the cars and people. Oregon, and Gravity Falls in particular, just wasn't his kind of place. It never felt like home and never would.

But now he couldn't get away, no matter how hard he tried. He had only come through because of the job offer he had received at this joint up in Seattle to help sneak some illegal animals to some very rich people. It would have made him a load of money, enough to risk coming through the area. Going through Gravity Falls instead of going around would save him a ton of money in gas. And Stan would never let it be said that he let such a good bargain slip him by. In the end, he had reasoned, it was well worth the risk to save some money. Damn his greedy mind.

Even though he had only planned to stay the night the curse of the town had still somehow caught him again. Hearing Stanley's voice, seeing his face again, had erased any possibly of making it to Seattle. He couldn't abandon his brother if he was needed, even if there was a chance Stanley might not do the same for him. That was how family worked.

But now Stanley had abandoned him again, this time leaving his mess behind for Stan to clean up. Not that this was anything new to Stan.

"What the hell, man?" Stan whispered as he slowly cantered out of the room and into the next. He was greeted by an assortment of mechanical noises as the machines continued working, oblivious of their master's absence. "Why do you seem to think that I'm your assistant? I wasn't born to help you with your little experiments. Why does it always end like this?"

He reached the elevator and glanced at the buttons. They were all weird symbols from some strange language. Stan took a guess and pressed one. To his disappointment there was no reaction. He tried another, then another after that to no success. Finally on the sixth button he was rewarded by a click. The heavy metal door slowly creaked open. Stan stepped inside. Thankfully there were only up and down buttons. The down button wasn't lit, indicating that this was the bottom floor. Stan wouldn't have been surprised if it turned out that there was something else even deeper down, but it looked like that wasn't the case. He pressed the up button and the door heaved shut once more.

"It was never what I wanted, Stanley." He whispered. "I just wanted us to be brothers. You had to make us into some kind of sleuth team. But you got what you wanted, just like always."

Dad had always loved Stanley more, Stan knew. Who wouldn't? Stanley was the successful one. He had brains, and he had charisma. He was a leader, the guy you liked to have around in tough times. Stan was just his delinquent brother, the guy who only got around on his sense of humor. Everyone loved Stanley, and they simply tolerated Stan. Especially Dad.

_That's probably why it hurt him so badly when Stanley turned his back on the family to work on his little mystery books_, Stan considered. Stan couldn't help but hate the book he held in his left hand, with the number one painted on the cover. Behind it sat the six fingered hand that had become Stanley's trademark. Stan hated that right now too. It was just a symbol of Stanley and all of the selfish and hurtful things he had done.

"You keep hurting us even when you're gone, don't you brother?" Stan said. "After you tore us apart you just had to drag me back into it again."

But as much as he wanted to he couldn't hate Stanley. Perhaps what he had done, but not him. Stanley would always be his brother, the person in the world who knew him as well as he knew himself. There was next to nothing that could break those bonds, even his betrayal. "As much as I hate it I guess I have to play assistant for you one last time." There was a click and the elevator door opened. Stan stepped out into the large, empty house. His house now.

_But I can't do that unless you are here in thirty years to let me return. Do you understand? I need you._

Stan sighed. "You didn't leave me much of a choice. I'm back in this town whether I like it or not." He chuckled. "At least now I can get away from the damn hippies."

He approached Stanley's phone and dialed a number. He had to let his employer know that he wouldn't be showing up. "Yeah, hello? Hey Diego, its 8-ball. I called to let you know that I won't be making it up there. Some complications arose and I'm out of the job. Sorry." Stan hung up the phone before the other man could answer. He doubted it would have been a pleasant conversation. And just like that, his old life was gone and his new one could begin. But he wasn't sure he was ready quite yet.

Stan walked outside. He saw his car parked next to Stanley's, a huge pile of junk squeezed into the back seat. That had been his entire life since he had left Gravity Falls, and somehow this place had reeled him back in as though it weren't finished with him. Now his old life, what had been his for the past few years, was gone. Not that he missed it, but it had been a symbol of freedom for Stan. It had been a sign that this place hadn't been able to hold onto him forever.

Look how great that turned out. Just when he thought he was free this damn place reminded him that all it had to do was call to him and he would be trapped once more. How pathetic.

Stan got into his old car and started it. He could worry about all of this tomorrow. And the day after that. And on and on for the next thirty years. For now, however, he needed to go for a drive. Hopefully it would clear his head.

He wondered what was on the other side of that portal. What would Stanley find? Was it something similar to Earth, or was it something completely new? What wonders and adventures would await his twin? Most importantly, was it safe? Stan knew full well just how long thirty years could be. Even for the most cautious and safe minded people the world was teeming with all sorts of danger. Stan doubted it would be any different wherever Stanley was going.

Stan saw the lights of the diner he had eaten at earlier. He wondered how that beautiful waitress was doing. He would love to take her on a date later. That would be nice. His mind set, Stan pulled into the parking lot.

He got out of his car smoothly, hoping he could still get something positive out of tonight. It couldn't make up for the bizarre and otherworldly things that had changed his life earlier that night, but maybe it could provide a nice distraction.

He stepped inside, adjusting his glasses and putting on his best smile. He spotted Susan sitting at a stool, looking sad. He approached her. "Don't worry, babe. You don't have to be sad anymore. I'm back for you."

She whirled around, shock evident on her face. Stan was confused. He didn't know why she would be so surprised to see him, but now he was back and ready to have a pleasant night. His smile soon disappeared when he saw her shock morph into fury.

"YOU!" She shrieked, grabbing him by his shirt. "How dare you steal my car! You dirty, lying thief!"

Stan's hands went into the air. "Whoa! Calm down, woman. I didn't steal anything!" He had no idea what she was talking about

"Don't lie to me, Stan Pines!" She shouted. "You're a thief and a grifter!" Several of the patrons had gotten out of their seats, likely to help her. Deputy Blubbs in particular caught Stan's eye as a potential threat.

Stan knew staying was a bad idea. He had to get out of here before things got crazy. He pushed Susan away as gently as he could. He had to get this crazy bitch off, but he didn't want to hurt her. As soon as she was separated he sprinted out the door. He didn't know what she was talking about, but he knew it could only lead to trouble.

"Son of a bitch." He muttered as he fumbled for his keys. "Why is everyone but me crazy in this damn town?"

Soon he was driving away from Susan and everyone else that had been after him back there. He had gotten away, but he couldn't help but wonder what the reason for that raucous was. What had Susan meant about him stealing her car? He would have remembered doing that. Curiosity soon won out and Stan pulled over on the side of the road. He got out and started walking back to the diner. Maybe if he spied for a few minutes he could figure out what was going on.

A few minutes later he was peering through the trees at the diner. He saw Susan talking with a short man. The man had brown hair and glasses and was furiously scribbling into a notebook. After a minute the short man thanked Susan and left in his vehicle. Stan wasn't sure, but if he had to guess the small man that had just left was from the newspaper.

Just as Stan was about to leave another man approached Susan. This man was hidden beneath crimson robes, the hood of which covered his face. Stan was intrigued by this mystery man. He strained to hear their conversation.

"-re you?"

"Someone who can help. Tell me, did you see anything... unexplainable tonight?"

"Actually, yeah. I made a friend today in my diner, and he left. Then he came back and acted like a completely different person. He asked me weird questions and even stole my car! Then he comes back again pretending like nothing happened. I don't know what was wrong with him."

"It's alright, dear." The man said soothingly. "Was there anything else you can remember?"

"Uh yeah. I'm not sure, but I think I may have seen some sort of flying triangle. It kind of looked like the triangle on a dollar. How crazy is that?"

"Very." The man replied dryly.

"Yeah, it was weird." Susan assured the man "It had this really big eye, and a top hat, and even a little bow tie. It just flew right by, as though it were a bird or something."

"That must have been terrible. This is something we must report to the authorities." The man said. He waved over to a van that appeared to have more similarly hooded men inside. "We can take you to the police, if you like."

Susan glanced uncomfortably at the van. "I'm not sure I-"

"Please. We insist. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen along the way, would you?"

"Well I guess not-"

"Good! Let's be on our way, then." He grabbed her wrist and led her to the van.

Stan wanted to go help her with these strange men, but he knew he couldn't. He was vastly outnumbered and he had no idea what these strange men were capable of. He had no choice but to watch.

_But most of all, I'm going to need you to survive._

Just who were these nutjobs anyway? Whoever they were, it would be best to just watch what happened and report to the police if their intentions turned out to be less than innocent.

It didn't turn violent as the hooded man led Susan into the van. Nonetheless, Stan was suspicious of their intentions. He had a feeling that they weren't going to the police like the man had promised. He just wished he had some inkling as to who these strangers were. The van drove off, hooded men and Susan inside. Stan could only hope her fate was a good one.

He made his way back to his car and started it up. He let out a huff of rage and punched his car. He couldn't believe himself. That girl had been in trouble and he hadn't done a thing. He pulled back up onto the road a drove on. What was wrong with him? Sure he had been outnumbered, but that was no excuse not to help her. Was it logic that had led to his inaction, or was it something else?

Was it because he was a coward?

Maybe. But no matter the excuse, Stan knew that even though he had no choice doing nothing was ultimately the wrong thing. That girl could be hurt or worse because he didn't have the balls to act. He would have to live with whatever happened to her because it was his fault.

Stan suddenly realized that while being distracted by his thoughts he had arrived at a very familiar place. A place he never thought he would see again.

"No way." He breathed as he pulled his car to a stop. "How is this here? This is impossible." It looked just like it, but how could this be here? Somehow, someway, this was a perfect replica of Stan's favorite place in the world.

Glass Shard Beach.

"But how?" He muttered as he got out of his car and walked towards the place he had thought would only live on in his memories. "You're supposed to be in New Jersey."

It all looked perfect. The swing set, the fence line, even the ocean view. But how was this possible?

Feeling like he was in some sort of dream world, Stan sat down gently on the left hand swing. "What the hell is going on?" He had a feeling Stanley had put this here. Who else would have known about it? It had to be him.

He remembered the great times he had spent here with Stanley, without a care in the world. It had been bliss, perfection. He had been happy, as happy as he had ever been.

It made today seem that much darker in comparison.

"Dammit, Stanley," he muttered, "Why did you have to go?" He swung forward and backwards, just like he had done as a kid. He gazed up at the moon, the bright orb that illuminated the ocean below. It truly was beautiful. "I wonder if you can see it, bro. I hope you can."

He noticed a faint rustling. He glanced around. The moon was bright enough that he could see all around for about twenty yards. There was no one there. Stan looked around for whatever could have caused it, but found nothing. "What the hell?" He wondered out loud. The wind picked up slightly and he heard it again. It was close. He realized that the noise was somewhere around the swing set. He looked at all of the bars, finding nothing. He checked under the seat, discovering a small slip of paper taped to the bottom. He pulled it off. There was writing on it, but it was told dark to make out the words.

He brought it over to his car. He opened the door and pulled his flashlight out of the glove box. It came on with a click and he pointed it at the paper. In his gravelly voice Stan read,

"_Dear Stanford, if you are reading this it means you have discovered the replica of Glass Shard Beach I created. It also means that I am gone. I'm sorry, Stan."_

The pain of Stanley's disappearance hit him again, stronger than ever. It was like a furious fire had been lit in his chest, and he had no way of putting it out. Stan barely registered the flashlight slipping from his grip. The paper crumbled into his hand. He fell to his knees and sobbed. He rested his face into the smooth leather seat as he cried. "Dammit Stanley! You knew I would need you! You could have just tossed your damn journal into that fucking portal. You didn't have to leave! Why, you motherfucker?" he continued sobbing into the leather seat.

He stayed like that until he fell asleep, weary of the cold, unfeeling world around him.

**Well, how was that? Did Dobby perform the task to master's liking? Let me know in the reviews, and be sure to follow and favorite so I can feel a brief moment of relevance before I go back to my usual mediocrity. Also be sure to check out my other stories and my friend Solo Gamer who also has good stories you would like. Before I end this, I would like to ask what you guys would like to happen to Stanley. Honestly I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him so any suggestions would be very helpful. Until next time,**

** -Darthlane**

** P.S. don't forget to turn to the dark side (we have cookies!).**


	3. Chapter 3

**I shall post my shortest author's note ever and simply tell you to enjoy.**

**ENJOY!**

** -Darthlane**

Chapter 3

Stanley stumbled through the portal and fell to the ground. He crashed to the dirt, a fact that while slightly painful gave him great cause of relief. Dirt was good. Dirt was familiar. Hopefully it wouldn't be the only thing that was. Stanley quickly discovered that he could still breathe, meaning that not only was there breathable oxygen but the atmosphere was stable. That covered two of his basic needs.

Stanley lifted his head and looked around. To his surprise the area around him was...empty. It was flat, with only the ground and the sky. It was just a vast desert, it seemed. A desert so empty and vast that there wasn't even a horizon in the distance. The ground appeared to just be normal dirt, or perhaps dark sand. It was hard to tell, because of the darkness. The sky resembled night, only it was absent stars, which looked very freaky. The only thing that occupied the dark sky was a single pale sliver, like a disc. Stanley wanted to call it the moon, but he had a feeling that it wasn't. This wasn't Earth, that much he could tell. Normally one could see the bumpiness of the craters on the moon, but this orb was more like a weak imitation of the sun.

All Stanley knew for now was that he had to find out more.

He got up to his knees, causing his injuries to scream in protest. He clutched his hurt leg with his good arm, trying alleviate the pressure on the injury. He forced himself to sit down. As soon as he was in the more merciful position he breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that before he did anything else he had to take care of his damaged limbs. If he left them as they were much longer he would be forced to regret it. He carefully ripped off both sleeves, and using his good arm alone, made a makeshift sling for his other arm and a splint for his broken leg using half of his new walking stick. He decided to use the other half as a weapon should he need it. It wasn't much, but it could leave quite the headache if called upon. Or so he hoped.

Stanley carefully made his way to his feet. It took a ridiculous amount of time and effort, and was still very painful. Stanley decided that he would never let his leg be broken again.

He turned around and was pleasantly surprised when he noticed that the machine that produced the portal was still in good shape. From what he had surmised from the schematics he had found for the machines they ended up destroyed back in Gravity Falls after every use. Why would it still be intact here? Stanley decided that it could either be attributed to luck, or perhaps there was something about this new world he was in that was less destructive towards the machine. Stanly decided that this was yet another mystery for him to figure out.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, "I need to get ahold of food and water. I don't know if I will need shelter or not here, but it's a safe bet I will." He sighed. "Oh god, this is going to be impossible."

He decided that the best way to find food and water would be to look for it. Hopefully he would find something before it was too late. There had to be something, right?

He regretfully started walking away from the machine that had brought him here. It wasn't lost on him that this might be the last time he ever saw the damn thing. He couldn't help but feel like this, not leaping through the portal, was the real beginning of his journey. Perhaps all he was fated for was to wander this dark, empty land until he perished.

But he refused to accept that. As long as there was a chance, it was his duty to soldier on. If he didn't, it was likely that Gravity Falls would be doomed. He couldn't accept that fate.

Stanley wondered how his brother was holding up. He would understand completely if Stan was blown away by what had happened. Stanley barely believed it himself. All that had transpired was a lot to take in, and Stanley would not be surprised if his brother initially refused to have anything to do with all of this. But even so he had complete faith that Stanford would pull through and get the portal open from his side when the time was right. He had 30 years to come to his senses. They were twins and that bond would always be unbreakable. Stanley would trust his brother more than anyone else to have his back, including himself.

Stanley turned his mind to the fact that there was a portal built here. Someone had to have built it, even if they weren't necessarily human. Stanley wondered who that could possibly be. It was possible that there were men before him that had discovered the same secrets he had, or it was just as possible that it could be other sentient species, such as the gnomes or the shape shifter Stanley had created himself. Or perhaps even something like the triangle demon Bill Cipher. The possibilities were endless.

Hopefully this meant he could find something useful nearby. A place with food and water would be very nice. He could already feel his stomach start to clench. He hadn't eaten in…. how long had it been now? Almost a day, he figured. It had been a ridiculously busy day, with no time to slow down and eat. He was suddenly regretting storming out of Susan's Diner without first grabbing some provisions to survive on. Damn, he could go for some of her pie right now.

All Stanley could see ahead of him was just the dark ground and the darker sky. The ground seemed perfectly flat, which scared Stanley for some reason he couldn't figure out. It was just so strange. He just knew that this could never form naturally and no human hands could create anything with this perfect expertise. It had to have been...something else.

Stanley glanced back behind him and was shocked to see that he was hardly any farther than when he had started. It had to be an illusion. He had been moving for a couple of minutes now but he had gained almost no distance. Had he been going far slower than he had thought? Or did it have something to do with this place? But perhaps he was just mistaken. It could just be a trick of the cruel light. Even now it seemed to be playing tricks on him, being both dark and pale all at once. And was that a shape in the distance?

Stanley realized that it WAS in fact a shape, darker than the sky itself, flying toward him at great speed. Very soon Stanley could make it out even in the poor lighting. It appeared to be black like a shadow, with bright red eyes and wings of swirling shadows. It appeared to be about the size of a dog. It moved like a seagull, not appearing very fast but covering more distance than it looked.

Stanley was relieved when the creature dropped to the ground a good distance away. It pulled its wings into its body and sat there, watching him. Stanley surmised that it was likely a scavenger of some sort and was waiting for him to die. That was obviously not a good sign, but at least it wouldn't attack anytime soon. Again, assuming he was right. He had to rely on guesses and assumptions far more than he liked. But Stanley pressed on. There was no point in worrying about the creature any further, so he might as well put some distance in. As he walked, more of the creatures appeared, flying in silently before dropping in nearby. Soon he had half a dozen with him, slowly following his progress. It was unsettling, but he forced himself to ignore them. He couldn't get rid of them, and they hadn't bothered him yet. So it was best to just concentrate on what he could do. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Then more painfully, left foot. It still hurt. Just keep moving. Keep moving, Stanly. "Just keep moving."

Stanley was torn from his focus when the ground beneath him shifted. He looked down and was shocked to see the ground getting closer. He quickly found himself sinking into the dirt, like quicksand back on Earth. Within seconds he was down to his waist, sinking faster than he thought possible. The creatures all lifted into the air and flew to him, circling above. They knew that this was his end.

"No!" He screamed as he jammed his stick into the nearest patch of hopefully stable ground. "It is NOT ending this soon! Not after everything I fought for!" He held on tightly, but he continued to be consumed by the powerful maw in the ground. All too soon he was up to his neck and showed no sign of slowing down. His stick slipped out of its root in the dirt, worthless when he needed it the most. Just his luck. Stanley had no choice but to struggle in hopes he could wiggle his way back up. But he knew instinctively that this tactic was futile. All too quickly the ground swallowed him alive. Stanley took one treasured last breath before the pale 'sun' disappeared above him, obscured by the ever enveloping dirt. Stanley forced his eyes closed and concentrated on not breathing. Even now, facing this, he wouldn't accept death. The reaper would have to drag him all the way to the afterlife because Stanley refused to go willingly. Not when Stanford and the rest of Gravity Falls was counting on him to return.

Then the most miraculous thing that Stanley had ever experienced occurred. Against all odds and logic Stanley's toes were freed. Then, soon after, his leg followed. Stanley had lucked onto some underground cavern or something. It was definitely air below. He could freely swing his legs with no resistance. It occurred to him that this cave or air bubble or whatever it was might be the reason he had slid into the ground in the first place. He continued to swing his legs, enjoying the feeling of freedom. If he could at the moment he would have laughed.

Very soon he was free up to his chest, and it was starting to hurt what was still entrapped. When only his head was contained it was absolutely excruciating. His entire body was being held up only by his head, all of the pressure being exerted on his temples. He felt like his head might snap in half-

Suddenly he was free, head still attached. He was in free fall now, spiraling down. He quickly grew scared because he didn't land immediately. Soon enough a fall from whatever height would kill him instantly. He continued falling in pitch black darkness. He just kept falling and falling, without landing. What was going on? He reached out, hoping to find a wall, a branch (as ludicrous as that would be anyway), anything. He was met with nothing.

All too suddenly he stopped. The landing was so sudden it threw him off guard. But what captivated his mind was the fact that he was completely okay. He bounced a bit, as though he had landed on a sponge. He was still alive, without any broken limbs or even a bruise. It was beyond a miracle. It broke every law of physics known to man. That, of course, was Stanley's mistake. He couldn't break his mind of expecting things to work like they did at home. This wasn't home. The rules weren't the same. He had better figure them out quick before he got himself killed. His survival depended on how quick he could adapt to this new place and its mysterious rules.

Speaking of this new place, Stanley tried to figure out where he was now. It was completely dark, so he couldn't see a thing. The ground felt soft and kind of squishy. It definitely wasn't dirt this time. If felt more like...flesh of all things. Stanley really hoped it wasn't. He really didn't want to think about the possibility that it might be.

Breathing heavily, he got back to his feet. He still had his stick, for what it was worth, along with the clothes on his back. But that was it. If he didn't find food and water soon he would be doomed. He continued walking as he had above, hoping that against all odds he would find survival. He moved blindly, inching only as fast as he dared.

He suddenly ran into a wall, or at least what felt like one. It felt like it was made of the same material as the floor. Stanley didn't know if that was good or bad. He decided to go left and followed along the flesh-feeling wall. Going left was a part of some trick for getting out of mazes that Stanley had heard a long time ago. He couldn't remember how it went, but he definitely remembered the left part. Go left. He smiled weakly. If this happened to be a maze he had it in the bag.

Minute after minute passed, and still he kept following the wall. It winded back and forth like a snake, sometimes jutting in or pressing out. He had a feeling it was leading somewhere, but he had no idea what it could possibly be leading to. Everything in this damn place was a mystery to him.

Finally after what seemed like forever Stanley saw something in the distance. Dull red light filtered up ahead. Stanley sped up his pace. He really wanted to find out what this was. It could be exactly what he needed. Even if it wasn't at least it was something. He was willing to take anything, as long as this empty darkness ended. It was driving him crazy.

As he got closer, Stanley could make out that the light seemed to be coming from some small object sitting on the ground up ahead. From the light Stanley could tell that the object was sitting in a room and Stanley was coming into the room from a hallway of sorts. The red light, brighter as he got closer, made the walls look even more like flesh. Stanley was scared that it might be.

Stanley entered the room carefully. He didn't know what dangers this room could hold. Now that he was close Stanley could tell that the object was a small red gem. It was a beautiful triangle that glittered like a diamond. Stanley was taken away but its dazzling beauty. He wasn't sure he had ever seen anything this beautiful. He just wanted to touch it.

Maybe it would feel as wonderful as it looked. Stanley reached his hand down to pick it up...

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." A high pitched voice said behind him.

Stanley whirled around, pulling his good hand away from the triangular red gem. He hasn't even realized how close he had been to grabbing it. The voice had pulled his mind out of a haze that he hasn't even noticed had fallen into. Something about that gem had just drawn him in.

There was a small purple triangle floating in the doorway Stanley had entered through. Stanley gave out a cry and backed away quickly. It was another demon, like Bill Cipher!

He waved his stick at it, even though he knew that would be useless. "Back away, demon! Stay away from me or else!"

The triangle floated away a bit. "Why would you be mad at me?" The thing sounded hurt and insulted. Its voice sounded like a small child's, innocent and curious. And now sad. "I saved your life, and I hoped you could be my friend. I've been so lonely..."

At second glance Stanly realized that this triangle looked very different from Bill Cipher. It was a vibrant purple instead of yellow, and was a good deal smaller. This one could fit in his hand. Also, it only had an eye. No hat or limbs, and no cane. Just that single small, quivering eye that was on the verge of tears.

Maybe it wasn't like Bill.

"Um, hey little fella." Stanley said, hoping to comfort it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You just frightened me, is all."

The triangle suddenly sounded more hopeful. "R-really?"

"Yeah, buddy." Stanley said awkwardly. "We can be friends." Too late he remembered that befriending a demon was what caused this mess in the first place. This wasn't a good idea at all.

"Yay!" The small purple triangle squealed happily. "Finally after all this time I can have a friend!"

"Ok, friend, can I ask you some questions?" Stanley asked. He realized that this could be just what he needed. Perhaps this demon could help him find food and water and everything else he needed.

"Sure!" The demon said cheerfully. "Ask anything!" He flittered about like a butterfly, ecstatic to have found a friend.

"What's your name?" Stanley felt it would be better to get to know this thing a bit before he asked about the more important subjects.

"I used to be called Tom." The triangle said.

"Okay, Tom, can you tell me where we are?"

Tom did something that might have been nodding. "This is the Gem Room."

Stanley sighed. "Yeah I got that. But what is this place? Like, everything?"

"Oh. Well I don't know what it's actually called, but I've been calling it the Night."

When Tom didn't elaborate, Stanley asked, "So you saved me from that gem over there? How would it have killed me?"

"It wouldn't kill you. It would... change you." Stanley thought that those words sounded especially creepy with the demon's child-like voice.

"Change me? Into what?"

"Into me." Tom said sadly. "You would become like me and all the others. I just saved you from becoming a demon, Stanley Pines."

**Bam! That just happened. So for those of you who like me have been keeping close attention to Gravity Falls news, you already know that this story is going to be completely disproved tomorrow night. For those who don't know, the Gravity Falls episode "A Tale of Two Stans" is airing tomorrow and will reveal what happened to Stan and Stanley all those years ago and all their mysteries and stuff, which will mean this story is discredited. Sad, I know, but it'll without a doubt be better than my story, and I'll love it regardless. But just because my story is now completely non-canonical doesn't mean I have to stop writing it. I'm going to continue for whoever cares. And in case you didn't catch it, I'm going to keep flipping back and forth between Stanly and Stan, which btw might actually be each other (go figure, right? What a twist!). **

**Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who has read this story, because giving the time of day is more than I could ask, and I really appreciate it. Id especially like to think everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed, because you guys went above and beyond what could be expected and it means the world to me. It really does. I'd also like to give a shout out to one person in particular, this guy who is only a guest on here, because he has left the most amazing and in depth reviews for this thing and I love it. Seriously dude get an account here so I know who you are. Also, I'd love it if you checked out my other stories and the stories of my bro Solo Gamer. We are going to take the fanfiction world by storm, but it starts here with you guys. Help us out please!**

**But of course I can't leave without asking you to join the dark side. We have these delicious cookies you just NEED to try. I promise, no nuts. See ya later,**

** -Darthlane**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter of Through the Portal! Im sorry I was away so long, I mostly blame writer's block. Seriously, if any of you have any ideas on where you want me to go with this go ahead and let me know. I have a plan for the next few chapters or so but long term its open game. Now, the last time I updated this was right before "A Tale of Two Stans" debuted. Obviously I was wrong about a fair number of things, most relevant here being that their names are mixed up, but I was pleasantly surprised by how close I was. I caught the personalities and the troubled relationship of the original Pines twins very well, I think. I'm proud of myself for that. Also, the fanfic joke Soos made in "A Tale of Two Stans" was made directly towards this fic in particular, which I was ecstatic about. Alex Hirsch, if you happened to have read my story by some amazing miracle, thank you for that joke. Everyone else, I hope you thought of this story at that part. I did. Also, Soos perfectly represented me when he was telling Wendy about what happened in the end credits scene. Now I'm sure you didn't come here to read me rant so lets get on with the story. Enjoy!**

**P.S.: don't forget that Stanford is Stanley and Stanley is Stanford.**

**Chapter 4**

In the middle of the dark forest sat a small book, a book lost and forgotten. It was red, and had a golden hand on the cover. On top of that was the number three. The book was leaning against a tall oak tree. The leaves above parted so that the bright moon cast down light on the book, illuminating it. The shadows danced around the book as a strong breeze shook the branches above.

A rustle of movement came from the nearby underbrush, and someone appeared from between two dark trees. He wore a dark green hooded cloak that hid his face. He moved gracefully towards the book like a mythical elf and crouched down. He gently picked it up, as careful as if it were the most valuable object in the world. "He must have dropped it." The strange person muttered. "Where did Pines go?"

He placed the book into a pocket deep inside his cloak and stood up. "If there is something out here that would scare the Author away I must find out what it is. For the sake of Gravity Falls and possibly the world, whatever is happening must be stopped." He slipped away back into the trees like a ghost, leaving no evidence that he had ever been there.

***The next morning***

Stanford Pines woke up groggily, drool running down his bottom lip. He realized that he was laying down in the front seat of his car, the door open. _Where am I?_ This actually wasnt the first time he had woken up like this. His old line of work had made for some strange places to fall asleep. It was a habit he should probably break. He shook himself and got up to his feet and sat down in his car. He grimaced as the sunlight hit his eyes. He had to block out the sun with his hand. It was way too bright right now. Sometimes stan really hated daytime. He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the last bit of sleepiness, then looked around.

The swingset. Glass Shard Beach.

Everything that had happened returned to him so suddenly it was like his brain had been hit by a speeding truck.

"Oh shit." He muttered. "Stanley. Stanley. Oh god, he's gone."

He glanced down and noticed the letter he had found here. The Letter! Stanley had left it for him, he remembered. He picked it up and read aloud.

"_Dear Stanford, if you are reading this that means you have discovered my replica of Glass Shard Beach. It also means that I'm gone. I'm sorry, Stan. I wish it could have worked out better, but if I'm right and I ended up in an alternate universe, then it was the best course available. There is a demon, which is one of the most powerful forces you could imagine, that wishes to destroy everything we know and love. But in order to do that, he needs twelve individuals. Two of them are us. I have no idea who the others are. I suspect Fiddleford might be one, but that's besides the point. Anyway, he needs us. All of us. So to save us all for thirty years I will have to leave. If I'm not here that means he cant use me or anyone else for what he has planned. I will be able to return in exactly thirty years. In that time I will attempt to figure out how to defeat him and save us all. But so that I can come back I will need you to repair my machine, as I anticipate that the pure power needed to create a rift between universes will be too much for the machine to take for long. I am fairly sure that the machine will be destroyed, and so I can get back I need you to pick up the pieces and put it back together. I'm sorry to put this on you, but im not sure I can trust anyone else. But in the end I know I can trust you. Mystery Twins, right? I am counting on you, Stanford. If you are angry with me, I understand, but don't let that get in between family. We are all we have , to assemble the machine you will need my journals. I should have given you the first and third journals by now. If not they will be in my house somewhere, probably the basement. And the second is with my friend Fiddleford McGucket."_

Stan stopped reading for a moment, and glanced at the journal Stanley had given him. The first one. Where was the third? Stan returned to the letter.

_"You will need all of the journals to complete the machine so you must connect with Fiddleford. You will be able to find him easily enough. There is no one like that crazy genius. Now, to move to a more immediate matter. As I'm sure you might have noticed, Gravity Falls is... far from normal to say the least. It is quite dangerous. Bill Cipher is just the tip of the iceberg to this town, so you must take great care against what awaits you in it. I have recorded much of what exists here, but there is still much that I do not know. Consult my journals, but remember that not everything you need can be found within what I have written. Also, not everything that's dangerous in Gravity Falls looks like a monster. Some of this town's terrors are a bit more familiar. There are people here who know what is going on and will do whatever they can to make sure you don't. In particular there are three main factions to look out for. The first would be the Northwest family. They have ruled this town for centuries and will crush anyone who they believe threatens their power. Stay out of their way if you can, Stanford. They have everyone who matters in their pocket and that doesn't bode well for you. Be careful. The second group you must watch out for is the Society of the Blind Eye. They are a group formed years ago to keep the secrets of Gravity Falls hidden. They try to keep outsiders away while keeping the citizens in the dark. If they find out what you know, and what you are trying to do they will do their best to put a stop to you. Like the Northwests, it is best to stay away from them. Hopefully they never learn that you know more than they think. They have been known to kidnap people and erase their memories if they know too much."_

Stan suddenly remembered what he had seen at the diner. That must have been the Society of the Blind Eye. That poor girl... he hoped she was okay.

"_I cannot stress enough how important it is that you are not caught. If you are, I have no chance of returning home. Stay away from them, whatever you do. Now, there is also another person you must watch out for. I do not know who he is, but I fear he knows exactly who I am. I call him the Hunter. He wears a hooded green cloak that hides his face. I have only seen him a couple of times, but I've seen enough to know he is quite capable and possibly dangerous. I don't know if he is an enemy or not, but it would be wise not to risk it. Remember, don't trust anyone! I'm counting on you, Stanford._

_Sincerely, Stanley Pines._

_P. S. For more details you should check my room. I have a surprise in there I think you might like. But don't dawdle, I'm not sure how long it will last without me. The combination to open the door is 4815162342. Good luck."_

Stan sighed as he finished the letter. It was real. It was completely real. It seemed impossible, but somehow it has happened. Stanley was in some other universe. He was really gone.

The Northwests, the Society of the Blind Eye, the Hunter; who were these people? It was one thing to be told to avoid them, that they were dangerous. It was another to see it in person. How was he supposed to stay away from these people if he didn't even know who they were?

Stan reached for the key and started the car. He closed the door and turned the radio on. "Crimson and Clover", some new rock song, was playing. The lyrics didn't fit the situation well, but the music fit the mood Stan was in. He backed away from swingset and spun the car around. Dirt flew through the air, creating a cloud of dust around the car. He gave the incredible replica one last look before he drove off. He decided it was probably best not to come back here. It brought back too many memories.

He skidded to a stop in front of Stanley's house. It seemed much larger in the daylight. He supposed it needed to be to fit all of Stanley's science junk. If his cache of nerd stuff had grown even larger- and Stan had no doubt that it had- Stanley would need a warehouse to keep all of it. Stan climbed up the porch, apprehensive about what could be waiting for him.

Stan entered carefully. It had been very dark when he had been here last, so he hadn't seen what waited inside. There had been a glow-in-the-dark line on the floor that lead him safely through last time. Following that he had been fine. But considering whose house he was dealing with he wouldn't take any chances of coming across something dangerous. There could be all sorts of contraptions lying about, stuff Stanley would forget somewhere like other people would forget a drink or a book. Only Stanley's stuff happened to be a lot more capable at poking eyes out.

Just as Stan had predicted, there were mechanisms and all sorts of junk everywhere. As sloppy as Stan was sometimes, he had to respect just how disorderly his brother was. It was shameful yet respectable at the same time.

There was a path through Stanley's house of nightmares, and Stan walked through easily. He wondered how he had gotten out last night. Even with Stanley's weird glow-in-the-dark guide it was amazing he had gotten through unscathed. Just good luck, perhaps. He had always had a knack at being lucky.

He tried the first room he came across. He opened the door to discover an office like setting, with a desk and some plants. Papers and small mechanisms were littered over the desk. But Stan didn't see anything that could need a code, so this must not be the room Stanley was talking about. But that didn't mean he wouldn't check it out more in depth later. He walked back into the crowded hall.

Next happened to be a set of stairs, leading up. Stan slowly made his way to the top of the stairs, ready the rush back down at the slightest bit of danger. Thankfully, it happened to be relatively safe. The attic was mostly empty, except for some table sized object in the middle of the room that was hidden under a tarp. Like with the stuff in the first room, it would probably be best to leave it be until after Stan had found his brother's surprise for him. Right next to the attic was the basement. He remembered coming up this way last night. How could he forget? But this wasn't the room he was looking for.

The next room was the living room. It was surprisingly normal, with none of Stanley's experiments sitting in it. Just some furniture, a painting of some old scientist, and even a small black and white TV.

"Look at you, Stanley." Stan muttered. "Being normal for once." He noticed his brother's favorite game, _Dungeons, Dungeons, and more Dungeons!_ lying on the couch. "Eh, maybe not that normal."

Stan continued on, searching for what Stanley had left waiting for him. The next room was a kitchen. Unlike the living room, Stanley's weirdness made itself known in here. Stanley had apparently made some adjustments to a bunch of the appliances. The fridge had some sort of add-on coming out the top that resembled a curved pipe. To Stan's annoyance it was the perfect height to accidentally hit his head on. He would have to get rid of that. The stove, where there four burners were on a normal stove, instead had tall pillars rising up like chimneys. It looked very strange and Stan couldn't figure out what purpose they could possibly have. How would you be able to cook the food if there was no way to put it on the burner? It made no sense. Just some more of Stanley's strange junk.

On the other side of the room Stan noticed some kind of large gun. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, very large and with a weird, unique shape. "What would you need that for, Stanley?" Stan asked out loud. He had no idea what that gun was capable of, although he had a strong hunch that what it shot wasn't bullets. Best to stay away from it until he knew more.

Stan left the kitchen to find one last door. He knew instantly that this was the one he was looking for. There was a set of revolving number dials on the door. Stan flicked one, and the seven flipped around and stopped on a two. He tried the handle, but the door was locked. Stan remembered that there had been a code in the letter. He had to put in that code, then the door would be unlocked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter from Stanley. It was now crumbled and wrinkly so he smoothed it out on the door frame.

"Four." He said, spinning the first number to match. "Eight." He set the second number to show eight. "One. Five. One. Six. Two. Three. Four. And two." When the final number was set Stan heard a click come from the door.

Stan took a deep breath, and turned the handle of the door. It creaked as he pushed it open. He stepped inside. It was dark. The only light came from the hallway behind Stan. He reached around the wall to find a light switch. There had to be one. But before he could find a switch a bright light appeared in the darkness. It was a candle, but more importantly was that someone was holding it. Stan could barely make out the figure of the person sitting in a rocking chair.

Goosebumps ran down Stan's skin. Who was this? Stanley hadn't said anything about anyone being here. But Stan did remember something he had said.

_Trust no one_.

Stan fumbled for the light switch desperately. He had to find out who this was. The figure stood up among the shadows, casting a dark aura over the room. Stan's hand found the switch and he flicked it on.

"Hello, Stanford." Said the last person Stan expected to see. It was impossible. It couldn't be. Yet it was.

Stanley Pines grinned at his twin brother.

**WHADAYATHINK? Surprised by the ending? I'm sure you guys have already figured out whats going on here. If not, well now you have something to look forward to finding out two chapters from now. Why two? Because Stanford and Stanley have to take turns because that's how it works for brothers. So Stanley(Stanford) will have more fun in his other universe while Stanford(Stanley) waits for his turn again. Leave your thoughts in the reviews and if you liked it prove it by adding to my legions of adoring fans(if only) and by checking out my other stuff. Now all I have left to say is….**

**Centaur-taur!**


	5. Chapter 5

"**These butterflies aren't mine! I swear! Ive been framed!"**

"**Tell it to the adorable owl we dressed up like a judge."**

**WEEEEEEEELLLLCOOOOOOMEEEEE BAAAAAAAACCKK! I know what youre thinking. How could there possibly be another chapter? It hasn't been over a month yet! Oh, you weren't thinking that? Well then this just got awkward. Well anyway, somehow I pulled off some bit of sorcery and this chapter has come in a bit sooner than I expected. Its still not exactly fast, but hey, I am a week ahead of schedule. Well, since the last time I posted both "Stanchurian Candidate" and "The Last Mabelcorn" came out, and what splendid episodes they were. We met Tad Strange, who is now my third favorite non important Gravity Falls citizen(After Robbie's parents). We also got to see what is perhaps the greatest method for election I have ever seen. I wholeheartedly support using eagle kisses to decide things. Also, Stan made more sense than Donald Trump, and he proposed to create what is essentially the Hunger Games. Take that how you will. A character named Celestabellabethabelle(I think I got it right) now exists, which is amazing in so many ways. And there is a game out there called "Shh! Don't wake Stalin!" wow. Thank you so much, Alex Hirsch. You have created a beautiful monster. And its name is Gravity Falls.**

Chapter 5

"W-what?" Stanley asked, surprised. So that's what they were. Demons were actually people, or had been once. Until they touched the gem. Tom, the small purple triangle in front of him had been human once. A child, Stanley assumed. So had Bill Cipher.

Stanley glanced at the gem. He had been so close to joining Tom and Bill as a demon. Wow. It was scary to him how close he had been to losing his humanity. Even now the gem called to him, inviting him to grab it. Even though Stanley knew what would happen he was still tempted. The pull of the gem was very strong.

"Thank you." Stanley said. He really meant it. Becoming a demon was not something he wanted to experience in any way. "Thank you Tom."

The purple triangle looked happy to hear those words. "Your welcome, Stanley Pines."

"Just call me Stanley." The scientist said nervously. "I'm sorry to pry, but I must ask you. What is it like? What happened when you touched the crystal?"

Tom's smile faded, and he glanced around. "It's bad, Stanley. You wouldn't like it. It hurts sooooo much. When you lose your body you feel every bit of you slip away, bit by bit, until all that's left is your thoughts. Just you and your pain. Then suddenly you have shape again but you don't know why and you don't know how to control it. It's so different, and I'm still just learning. It took me so long to figure out how to fly straight, and even longer to figure out how to turn where I wanted."

Tom sighed and closed his eye. "But the worst part is the voices. I don't know who they are, but I can hear them talking. They say things. Bad things. I don't want to listen, but they make me. They make me." The triangle started crying.

"Voices?" Stanley asked. This was something far beyond his knowledge. He knew Bill had been a tormented little devil, but now he was beginning to understand why he was so devious and manipulative. If Bill had gone through the kind of horrors that Tom seemed to be facing then it was no surprise that he had turned out to be the merciless, powerful monster that Stanley knew.

"Yeah. The voices." Tom said softly. "They whisper to me. There's never anybody there, but there must be. I can hear them."

Stanley had no explanation for what Tom could possibly be hearing. He felt bad for the triangle, but he knew there was no way that he could really help. Maybe, once he was back in his universe, back in Gravity Falls once more, he could find a way to help Tom. But for now he had to concentrate on surviving this world.

"Tom," Stanley said slowly. "I'm afraid I can't help you with the voices. I can't help you here. Perhaps if we were back in Gravity Falls, but there is nothing I can do for you now."

"Y-you would help me?" The triangle asked, shocked. "But you don't even know me!"

"You seem nice enough to me." Stanley said with a smile. His smile disappeared again when he remembered that so had Bill. "Of course I'll help you. But like I said, for that I would need to be able to return to Gravity Falls. Can you help me with that?"

"I-I think so." Tom managed to get out, even though he looked very unsure. "I might be able to."

"Good. So first, can you tell me where I might be able to get some water? And possibly something to eat as well? I'm famished. Also, do you know where I can get back up to the portal? It might take another thirty years, but I need to be able to get back to the portal."

"I'm sorry." Tom answered. "But you won't be able to get back to your portal."

What? No! No no no no no no. If he couldn't get back then how could he stop Bill? This wasn't acceptable.

"What do you mean, demon?" Stanley asked angrily.

"Please don't be mad at me!" Tom pleaded. Stanley remembered that this demon was essentially a kid and forced himself to calm down. "I'm sorry!"

"No," Stanley said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. Tom, can you please explain what you mean by that?"

"You can't go up." Tom said simply.

Stanley waited, but Tom didn't continue. Stanley sighed and asked, "Why not, Tom? Why can't we go up?"

"Because we can't." Tom answered. "The roof won't let us. We can only keep going down. No matter how hard you try you can't go up."

Interesting news. Did this mean he would never return to the top? And if so, would there be a portal farther down? Bill had to have gotten out of here somehow.

"So if you became a demon here," Stanley said, putting the pieces together in his mind, "and you can't return after you go down, then that must mean you never left this place. You have sat on this floor ever since you turned into a demon."

Tom nodded sadly. "That's right. I've been here since I was a human. A few others have passed through, but I was always too scared to leave. I know it's not great here, but at least I know it won't get worse. And I even get a new friend every now and then."

"How long have you been down here, Tom?" Stanley had to ask.

"I've been wandering this floor for over two hundred years."

Stanley was amazed. How could anyone spend even a week just staying in this one area? The fleshy walls creeped him out enough that he wanted to leave already. But two hundred years...

"You were so scared that you never left?"

"Yes." Tom said softly, sounding ashamed. "I'm a big baby. But I can't do it. I could never convince myself. Even Bill couldn't get me to go down the exit."

"Bill?" Stanley gasped. "As in Bill Cipher? You met him?"

"Yeah, he dropped in thirty years ago, I think. We had made a deal to escape together but I backed out of it at the last second. He promised he would come back and save me."

Puzzle pieces began to fit together in Stanley's mind. Bill had been through here thirty years ago, so he was probably the most recent person to come through. Since Stanley had seen the demon, that meant that there must be a way back. Bill had made it, and so could Stanley.

Another thought occurred to him. The entire reason he had been able to build the portal was because he had found a set of schematics on how to build it. Perhaps Bill had used the same blueprints before him. Or perhaps Bill had been the one to make them. So many possibilities! Now Stanley was curious to know what kind of person Bill had been before he had become a demon. What was a human Bill Cipher like? It was strange to think about.

"How do you know Bill?" Tom asked him.

"Because he made it out." Stanley informed his new friend. "I saw him back in Gravity Falls, in the human world."

"He made it back?" Tom exclaimed gleefully. "He really made it back? So it is possible! Ooh did you see anyone else? Any other demons?"

Stanley shook his head.

"Frank? Nathaniel?" Tom's smile was slipping away. "Jane? Bryan? Oh."

"Bill was the only one I saw. I'm sorry."

"At least we know it's possible now." Tom said, perking up. "I can actually leave!"

Stanley chuckled. "That you can. I will make sure you get out of here, Tom. I swear it."

The small triangle suddenly zoomed forward. Stanley tensed and tried to dodge but was nowhere near fast enough. But then he realized that all the demon was doing was wrapping his arms around Stanley. It was a hug.

Stanley let himself relax as the small demon held him. What had he been thinking? This little guy was as innocent a soul as he had ever seen, yet still he had assumed the worse. He was ashamed.

"Thank you so much!" Tom squealed as he zoomed back. "You don't have to help me. Why would you?"

"Because you aren't a bad person, Tom." Stanley said "Yet life has treated you like one. I want to see if I can change that for you."

Tom had tears in his eye again, but Stanley could tell that they were tears of happiness. "Thank you so much, Stanley. No one has been this nice to me. Well, except Bill. He was really nice too."

Stanley shuddered. It was so weird to hear anyone talk about Bill with such glowing terms. Stanley didn't want to break it to the kid how bad Bill Cipher really was. Unless, it occurred to him, maybe it wasn't Tom that was wrong about Bill. Maybe it was actually Stanley. What if Bill wasn't as bad as he thought? What if there was some shred of humanity left in that evil triangle? Stanley doubted it, but it wasn't impossible. Nothing was when it concerned Gravity Falls.

An even stranger thought came to him. What if they both were right? What if Bill had left here a well intentioned being, but over time had been corrupted on his journey to return home and had become the demonic trickster that Stanley knew him to be?

Stanley shook his head. All of these possibilities were just confusing, and at the moment, ultimately pointless. What mattered now was the task at hand, not what Bill had going on in his head universes away. It wouldn't matter what Bill had in mind if Stanley couldn't get back to Gravity Falls, so it was best just to put it out of mind. Yet he couldn't help but asking anyway, "What was Bill Cipher like when you knew him?"

Tom was too happy to answer. "Bill was the kindest, most considerate, smartest person I ever met! He was amazing! He figured our stuff about this place I had no idea about, and I have been here for so many years."

"How long was he here? And what did he figure out?" Despite what he had told himself before, he was very curious to hear about Bill.

Tom glanced up, thinking. "Um, he stayed with me for about a week or so. He figured out lots of stuff. Like, he even figured out what this place is."

Stanley couldn't believe his ears. How could anyone have figured out what this place was based on just what he had seen? Nothing here made sense! It would be impossible to figure it out this easily. Bill must have lied.

"Well?" He asked expectantly. "What is this place then? According to Bill, where are we?"

"Well, he said that it was best to think of it as a very big building. The place above us is the top floor, and we are on the one right below it. This floor is larger than the top one, and the floor below us is larger than this one. And it keeps going, he said, each floor getting bigger and more dangerous than the one above it. The exit gets harder to find, the hazards more dangerous, until you eventually reach the bottom. Altogether it makes a gigantic triangle." The demon giggled. "This place seems to be obsessed with triangles, don't you think?"

Stanley was actually fairly impressed. This theory, while out of left field and unprovable, at least from here, was just the right kind of crazy to match this place. In this strange universe, it was almost plausible. Even likely. There was just one big problem...

"Tom, how did Bill come up with this?" Stanley asked.

"Like I said, Bill was smart. Smarter than anyone I had ever seen before. I don't know how he got to that answer, but Bill would have been the guy to figure it out. I have no doubts about him."

Stanley was annoyed by this answer. He was by far the smartest person he knew. Even Fiddleford paled in comparison to his mental prowess. Yet he had been completely stumped in trying to figure out this place. If he couldn't, he doubted anyone could. Bill probably was as smart as Tom said, but Stanley was confident that the trickster was Fiddleford smart. Not Stanley smart. Only Stanley was Stanley smart.

"I see." Stanley said. "Well, we can't just assume he is right. There is no proof that we are in a giant triangle, although the fact that we are incapable of going up means that we will have to continue to descend until we find some sort of escape. This could be a long trip, so it will be vital to find food and water. Do you know where to find any?"

Tom shook his head. "If there is any in this world its not here. Nothing here but you, me and the gem."

"Damn." Stanley didn't like this situation. There was no food here, and no guarantee that he would ever find any. This was a completely separate universe, after all. There was no guarantee to find anything even remotely similar to what Earth held. Bill, of course, had the luxury of no longer needing sustenance, which had given him all the time he needed to think. Stanley's only choice would be to dive in and hope for the best. Or was it?

His gaze turned back to the gem. It wasn't too late. He could become immortal. This could be exactly what he needed to get back to Gravity Falls. Here was the opportunity. All he had to do was grab it. He reached forward and-

"It's not worth it." A child's voice said in his ear.

Stanley froze. It suddenly hit him what he had almost done. He could have slapped himself. What was he doing? Everything he had worked for had almost been thrown away in a single moment! All because he couldn't control himself! What was happening to him?

He snatched back his hand and let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Thank you, Tom." He turned around. "You saved me from doing I would have regretted. We should get out of here before something happens again. I don't trust what this room holds."

"Why would you want to give up your humanity? Don't you realize what you are losing?" Tom asked softly. Stanley shuddered. The child demon was very creepy sometimes. He decided not to answer.

As he had hoped, the purple triangle led him through the dark halls towards the exit. Thankfully Tom gave off his own faint light so he wasn't hard to follow in the darkness. The only problem that really arose as they traveled was that Stanley would occasionally trip on some unforeseen rock or root or other small hazard. Besides that, though, it seemed to be smooth sailing. Or walking, to be more accurate. Still, the hunger and thirst were getting to Stanley. He couldn't stop his legs from trembling, and even in the darkness he could tell he was wobbling. If he didn't get anything soon it could be the end of him. He hoped that he still had many years ahead of him.

After about an hour Tom led him to what was simply called 'the pit'.

"This is it." Tom said. "That's how we go down." It was just a dark hole in the ground. Stanley had expected something more ominous or meaningful, but it simply a pit. He couldn't see down it. It just seemed to stretch on to oblivion. But perhaps there was more to this than met the eye. It was the only way to leave, after all.

"Well, as the mortal one of the two of us, I would suggest we go ahead and get down there." Stanley said as he walked up to the edge.

Tom looked uncomfortable with leaving. He looked at the hole how kids back on Earth would look at a diving board. The poor guy was downright terrified.

"I don't want to go." He said softly. He was literally shaking in the air. "I don't wanna."

"You have to, Tom." Stanley said, growing impatient. He needed to get out of here now if he wanted to escape. "If you want to get out of here and get back home this is the way."

"But I'm scared." Tom said.

"Tom, I promise you that I will make sure you get through this. You just have to believe me." Stanley pleaded. "We will get out of here, but we have to be brave. Can you be brave?"

Tom nodded. "I-I think so."

Stanley smiled. He hoped that it was reassuring and not awkward like usual. "Good. Then lets be brave and go down there together."

"I-I guess so." Tom said doubtfully.

Stanley did the last thing he expected to do when he left. He grabbed the demon by the hand and looked him in the eye. "We. Can. Do this! Just trust me, Tom. Trust me. We will survive this, and you will be one step closer to being yourself again. Are you ready?"

Tom just nodded, shaking harder than ever.

Stanley took a deep breath. It was now or never. This was likely the best chance he had at getting Tom to jump. "Jump on three. One. Two. Three. JUMP!"

Stanley jumped into the hole. But as he did Tom pulled back, breaking away from Stanley's grip. Stanley was thrown into a circle and flew into the side of the hole. He quickly gripped onto the side, leaving him hanging over the edge.

"Tom!" He shouted. He started slipping. He tried to readjust his grip on the rock face, but his injured arm was doing him no favors.

"I'm sorry!" The purple demon wailed. "I just can't do it!"

"Tom!" Stanley shouted. "You promised!" He slid the last few inches down and plummeted. "You made me a promise!" He shouted as he fell.

**Well, I have somewhat of an idea of where I want Stanley's adventure to go, but it would be a great help if you guys could supply me with some ideas on some different places Stanley could end up. They don't have to be original, because lets be honest this has great potential for crossovers. Hell, I'm already considering having Stanley meet Rick Sanchez from Rick &amp; Morty. But seriously, if you guys have any ideas on places, characters, or anything else Stanley could come across just tell me and I'll try to work it in. Besides that, I would like to know if anyone would be willing to smuggle some pugs for me. No? Aw well.**

**Thanks for everything, guys! Til next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! I'm back, and I'm bearing another chapter in tow! It would have come a lot sooner, but my teachers collaborated together all Legion of Doom style to bring about a "Dark Age of Homework" that I had to endure for the past three weeks. I could barely find time to eat, let alone write. But it's pretty much over now, and I can get back to this. Now, I feel I must apologize because the last few chapters that I have done, of this and my other stories, I got into the bad habit of forgetting to use the spell check before I posted and as such there might have been a few spelling and grammar errors that might have annoyed some of the Spelling Nazis among you. I apologize and I'm making an effort to fix it. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

No. This is impossible. How could Stanley be here? It was simply illogical. Stan had seen him disappear. Stanly was gone, long gone. And Stan knew that the person that had gone through that portal had been Stanley, sounded exactly like him. But it couldn't be him. It just couldn't be.

"This is impossible!" Stan shouted at Stanley. "You can't be here! You aren't here! Who the fuck are you?"

Fake Stanley held up his hands in a sign of peace. "Stanford! Calm down! It's me! Your brother!"

Did he really think Stan would be fooled by that? "No! You're lying! I saw him disappear! You can't be him because he's gone!" He pulled out his handy knife. This imposter could be dangerous and Stan knew he couldn't risk dying. His brother, his REAL brother, was counting on him to survive.

"Whoa!" The fake Stanley shouted, fear in his eyes. "Stan! That's not necessary!" He tried to back away, but there wasn't much space in the room and Stan had him trapped.

"It's completely necessary when someone impersonates my brother!" Stan said with a snarl. "You aren't Stanley! Who are you?" He began considering the possibilities. Somehow, this person had discovered whatever the real Stanley wanted Stan to see and tried to get in the way. This meant that Stanley's house wasn't safe. Stan would have to find some way to build that portal elsewhere, then move it down there when the time came. It would be ridiculously hard, but necessary.

"You are both right and wrong." Fake Stanley said slowly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stan asked with a glare.

"You are right because your brother disappeared into that portal, and he won't be back for thirty years. You are completely right about that." Stanley answered, taking a slow step backwards.

"So you admit it." Stan spat.

Stanley ignored the remark, continuing, "But, you are wrong because I am Stanley, not some imposter."

Stan's eyes narrowed. "You better start making some sense, Poindexter, before I gut you like a fish." He waved the shiny knife threateningly. Damn lying imposter. He should probably just kill the guy here and now. It didn't matter who he was if he was dead.

"There is a machine in my- Stanley's room that is capable of making clones. It looks like an ordinary copying machine, but instead of paper it copies anything. I... am a clone."

Stan considered it. He was sure Stanley could make something like that. It would be easy for someone like him. Perhaps this guy was telling the truth.

"Prove it." Stan said gruffly. "Tell me something only Stanley would know. And show me this cloning printer thingy."

"When we were kids, we promised that we were going to build a boat, and we would call it the _Stan O' War._ We were going to sail the world together, just the two of us." Stanley paused. "Believe me now?"

Stan couldn't believe it. There was no way anyone else could know about that. This really was Stanley. Even despite what happened last night, and the crazy clone story, it was true. This was Stanley.

The knife slipped from his grip and Stan brought his brother into a hug, tears in his eyes. Stanley slowly returned the embrace. They stood there for a moment, then Stanley said, "It's good to see you too, brother."

Stan pulled away, then smiled. "Clone or not, you're still my brother, I guess."

"Yes, that's true. On most levels I am exactly the same as the original Stanley."

"Most?" Stan asked, frowning.

"Yes, there are some... differences on the molecular level. You see, clones aren't very stable. If we so much as get wet our bodies may break down at a rapid pace. As such, I can't drink anything and will die from dehydration soon." Stanley shook his head sadly.

Stan was horrified. "That- that's horrible! There's nothing you can do?"

"Actually," Stanley said, holding up a finger to make a point just like Stan always remembered him doing, "I can still survive off of ink. It is wretched stuff I assure you, but it can keep me alive. But I hate that damn liquid." He nodded to a table in the corner that held several bottles of black ink, many of them already empty.

"So the real Stanley left you here to help me?" Stan asked.

"Hey, I'm real too." Stanley snapped, annoyed. "But if you mean the original, then yes he left me here to assist you in evading Bill."

"Okay, so now what?" Stan asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Stanley retorted. "Don't you have some sort of plan?"

"Not really." Stan admitted.

"Well," Stanley said, thinking, "It would probably be for the best if you stay in this house. It's safer here than anywhere else, and I already own it. But of course you will have to be able to stay here for the next thirty years so you will need some sort of income. It wouldn't help anything if we lost this place to the city."

"Wait, I'll have to get a job?" Stan asked. "In this crummy town?"

"If you want to get the original me back in thirty years, then yes." Stanley replied. "If not then you can leave now and I will try to survive until then on my own." He sighed. "Thirty whole years of liquids I have to avoid, it will be a nightmare."

"Fine, fine. I'll find something. Anything else I need?"

Stanley considered. "Let's see, you will also need to have the portal up and running again by the time Stanley can return. Let me see the journals."

Stan fished the book out of his coat pocket and handed it to Stanley. "Here you go. Books weren't really my thing anyway."

Stanley waited a moment expectantly then asked, "Well? Aren't you going to bring out the other two as well?"

"No." Stan grunted. "I don't have them."

"What do you mean?" Stanley exclaimed. "You should have received all three journals from the original me!"

"He said he lost one." Stan said. "And the other one was with his friend. What was his name? Harrison Ford or something like that."

"Fiddleford has one?" Stanley considered. "But why wouldn't the original tell me about that?"

"Don't ask me." Stan said gruffly. "I don't understand half the stuff he does. Fucking weirdo."

"I'm right here!" Stanley said sharply. "Anyway, I think you will have to pay Fiddleford a visit. If he has one of the journals then we need to get it from him. Did the original me happen to say where he lost the other journal? We will probably need all three for this."

"Do we need them?" Stan asked, an idea forming in his mind. "We do have you after all."

Stanley chuckled. "Brother, I think you are underestimating just how complicated this portal is. Plus the odds are I won't last a few weeks, let alone thirty years. You will have to do this, Stanford."

Before Stan could answer there was a loud crash from the other side of the house. The brothers glanced at each other.

"Was anyone else supposed to be showing up here?" Stan asked, although he instinctively knew the answer.

Stanley shook his head. He held up a finger and _shushed_ quietly, motioning for Stan to follow him. He slipped through the door silently, warily making his way to the kitchen. Stan followed, picking up his knife as he left the room.

In the kitchen the Stanley clone grabbed the sci-fi gun that Stan had seen earlier.

"Can I have one of those?" Stan asked, glancing resentfully at his knife. In comparison in seemed so puny.

"I only have one," Stanley answered, "and even if I did have another one you wouldn't know how to use it."

"I know how to use a gun!" Stan exclaimed quietly. "It's not like they are as dangerous as ladders."

"Trust me, Stan." Stanley whispered as he watched the entrance. "You wouldn't be able to use it. Just be ready to cover me if I miss."

Stan grumbled a bit but didn't argue any further. They both hid on opposite sides of the room, flanking the door. It was silent as they waited for their intruder to enter the room. Stan could feel each heartbeat, each moment pass, every one as tense as the moment before it.

He was there so suddenly that Stan thought it was just a trick of the light. Not even the slightest of sounds announced the arrival of the man in the green cloak. One second there was just an empty doorway, the next, there he was.

The green cloaked man cut an imposing figure, as he was tall and heavily muscled. His face was hidden beneath the hood of his cloak, so Stan couldn't see who the man was.

There was a sharp whine and a purple light shot across the room from Stanley's gun to the green cloaked man. Faster than Stan would have believed possible from human being, the man dodged and rushed at Stanley.

Stanley shouted and Stan attacked from behind with his knife, hoping the stranger wouldn't see the attack coming.

Unfortunately, he did.

The man swung an arm back at blinding speed, striking Stan in the side of the head. Stan was stunned for a moment, in complete shock by what had just happened. The man struck Stan in the wrist, making him drop the knife, in the throat, and in the gut. The last attack sent him reeling back into the wall. He heard another sharp whine, then blacked out.

When he came to, he saw Stanley struggling against the green cloaked man. The man's hands were constricting Stanley's throat. Stan figured he must have only been unconscious for only a couple of seconds.

Quickly realizing that he didn't have much time, Stan started crawling towards the struggle. If he couldn't stop this guy Stanley would die. Stanly saw him coming and glanced fearfully in a direction. Stan followed his gaze and saw his knife laying there on the ground. He grabbed it and crawled up behind the man. He noticed that there was a large burn in the man's back. The burned area looked like an overcooked steak. Stan supposed Stanley must have hit him with that ray gun of his. And it made the perfect place to strike.

Stan stabbed the man with as much force ad he could muster, and was rewarded with a satisfying squelch noise as the knife slid in. The man attacked back, knocking Stan away and ran for the door. As quickly as he had appeared, the man was gone.

Stan just lay on the floor for a moment, celebrating his victory the best way he could at the moment, by breathing. He could hear Stanley also breathing, although his was far more rapid as Stanley tried to fit as much oxygen in his lungs as he could.

"Stan!" The clone gasped in between breaths. "Help me!"

Stan crawled as fast as he could over to his brother. Stanley was literally starting to break down. Stan realized what must have happened. Some liquid had come in contact with him, and now his cells were collapsing.

"Stanley! What happened?"

"The b-blood." Stanley said with a smile. "When you stabbed him." Already the damage was spreading from his legs, where the blood had landed, up to his gut and showed no sign of slowing. He was deteriorating fast.

"Stanley!" Stan shouted. "No! I can't lose you again! Is there anything I can do? Will getting some ink help?"

"No," Stanley answered softly. "Nothing can save me now." He adjusted his glasses. "Stan, go find Fiddleford. He can help you. Find him, and get me back. Promise me Stan."

"I promise you." Stan said, clenching his teeth. "I promise I will get Stanley back."

Stanley smiled softly. To Stan he looked very at peace. Everything below his torso was a bubbling mess. "Good. It meant the world to see you again, Stanford. I just wish it could have lasted a bit longer."

"Same here, bro." Stan said sadly. He held his brother's hand as he died, something he never thought he would have to do. By now only his head and arms remained.

It didn't seem that either of them could find the right words. The clone of Stanley melted away silently, giving a final smile to his brother before becoming nothing more than a puddle of ink.

Solemnly, Stan rose to his feet. His fist still clenched the ink that had once been the hand of his brother. He held up the ink, staring at it. "I promise you, Stanley, that I will get you home. I don't care if it's dangerous. I don't care how long it takes. I'm gonna pull this off, and no one's gonna get in my way!"

**And that *SPOILER ALERT* is the end of the chapter. Sorry if I ruined anyone who skimmed to the end for some reason. Really confused on why you did that, bro. But keep doing you. Now, in case it sounded familiar, most of that final line was taken from the episode "Society of The Blind Eye" when Stan is activating the Portal. Just thought it would be fun to throw that in. In other news, I need help from you guys. I have this really awesome idea for a Pokémon story that I plan to start after I finish the Harry Potter one I'm doing, which should last another four chapters or so. But I want to hear some input from any of you that happen to be Pokémon fans. I need a name for my protagonist, a girl starting her adventure. Backstory helpful but not necessary. I would also like a personality for this character, and recommendations for what her starter should be would be nice. It doesn't have to be one of the normal starters, anything would do, but I am looking for something that isn't really OP but not super weak at the same time. Something that can grow with the character, you know? Right now I'm leaning towards Duskull, but I'm open to what you guys want. So, if you could help with that I would be very grateful. PM me if you have anything. And on a somewhat related note, check out my other stories! If you liked this one you will probably like those too! Leave reviews of what you thought and follow and favorite because that's what Morgan Freeman would (hopefully) do if he read this. Until next time! Bye! Love y'all!**


	7. Chapter 7

"**Clara, did you eat my farm?"**

**Welcome back everyone! I know it seems really soon to be seeing another chapter of this story, since I have been agonizingly slow with new chapters in the past. How is it here, not only within the same month in just a week? My answer: I decided to exclusively work on this story until the season ends. For me it's going to be all Gravity Falls all the time until the finale. If you happen to read my other stories as well, don't worry they will be continuing soon, we are just going to take a little break so that I can focus on this. **

**Now with that announcement out of the way, let's talk about what I really wanted to get to: "Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future". WWWWWWTTTTTTFFFFFFF just happened? That was intense! I literally watched it right after I posted the last chapter, so part of me wished that I had watched it first since I had to wait a week before bringing it up here. Man that was awesome! We all knew that Bill would get the rift somehow, but it was how it went down that made this so awesome. I predicted that he would possess Soos, with it also possibly being Robbie, Stan, or as a wildcard Tad Strange. I was so, so off. Looking back, I should have seen it coming, because choosing Blendin makes so much sense. We knew already that Mabel didn't want to go home, and the episode's title was a big, big clue. That was freaking emotional at the end. The atmosphere, with those conflicting oranges and blacks, were perfect, and Kristen Schaal and Justin Roiland were amazing (speaking of which, for any Rick &amp; Morty fans out there, Rick was right like always. Morty DID cause the apocalypse!). And then, of course, that end credits scene with the birthday invitation. That was just plain chilling. Those screams in the background…sometimes I'm amazed that they get away with stuff like that on Disney. That could be a bit traumatic for some of the younger viewers. Then again I watched Lost when I was eight, so it's not like kids can't deal with that kind of thing. Or can they? Am I really traumatized? AM I? I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE! GO AHEAD AND READ WHILE I SORT THROUGH MY ISSUES!**

Chapter 7

Stanley plummeted, screaming in the darkness as. The light of the hole above, Tom staring down at him, got smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely, leaving him in complete darkness. He had a bad feeling that this wasn't like that first sinkhole. The first time he had gotten amazingly lucky when there had been that soft landing. He had a bad feeling that this time he wouldn't get lucky. Tom's hesitation might just mean his death.

He was ashamed of himself. Why had he ever trusted Tom? It was so stupid of him! After what Bill had done to him, he should have known better than to work with a demon. Tom had let him fall, and Stanley would probably die because of it. Stupid. It was just so stupid. Hadn't he learned in Gravity Falls that no one could be trusted? Then, for the first person he had met on the other side of the portal what had he done? Put his complete fucking trust in them! He couldn't believe himself. For a genius he was proving to be pretty stupid.

He wouldn't be able to keep his promise to Stan. All because he made a stupid mistake.

Suddenly darkness gave way to light and Stanley was falling through...sky? Somehow, inexplicably, he was in the grey sky, falling between clouds. Down below was a vast ocean, the water shifting and rolling like back on Earth.

At first all he could feel was pure relief. There was a chance he might not die! Again, he had gotten amazingly lucky. No, he reminded himself. Just because there was water below didn't mean by any means that he had survived. The impact would batter him even more than he already was, and he would have to be careful that he didn't drown. His injuries wouldn't help him there. And falling from this height wouldn't be like jumping off the high dive at the pool. It wouldn't be like cliff diving. This was practically sky diving into the ocean. There was only a small chance he would survive the impact, let alone the long swim back to the surface. His odds weren't looking good at all.

But at least there was a chance.

Thinking quickly, Stanley tried to figure out something that could help him here. If only he could fly, like Bill Cipher or Tom...

No! He had to force his head to get back to the problem at hand. Letting his mind drift towards demons wasn't going to help him any. He had to put his big head to good use.

If he could only slow down, he would stand a much better chance of surviving. He needed something like a parachute. He considered his jacket. It was well used and had a few tears and bad patches on it. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best he had to work with. It would have to do.

He unfurled the jacket off of his shoulders, and it almost ripped out of his grip as the wind attacked it as he fell. Pens, paper, and other small objects began to rain out of his many pockets, and Stanley was soon surrounded by a cloud of learning tools. He took a moment to consider how ridiculous this was. He almost laughed, thinking about the fact that he was racing an eraser. What a weird way to die.

He continued falling through the sky, speeding up despite his makeshift parachute. The water below got closer and closer, and Stanley braced for the impact. The water didn't look blue from here, just a merciless black. Almost as if it wanted to devour him. At the last second he took a big gulp of air and pulled his jacket around him like a shell. He hoped it would at least somewhat reduce the force of the impact.

If it did, he couldn't tell. It felt like landing on a rock, not water. The impact knocked the breath out of him as it buried him under the waves. Underwater he tumbled around, and could no longer tell the directions apart. After what seemed like a good five seconds of rocketing down, he finally settled at a depth. Stanley had no idea which way was up so he just kicked and hoped for the best. He kept kicking, but it all seemed too slow. He already needed another breath desperately. He kept kicking, fearing he wouldn't make it. No, he had to. No matter what. He had promised Stan. Drowning wasn't an option.

Unfortunately for him, determination couldn't substitute oxygen. If he couldn't find the surface now then it didn't matter how much he wanted to live. His vision was fading, but he kept kicking. It was getting harder to think now, and his kicks were getting feeble. This was it. He couldn't make it after all.

Sorry, Stan. He thought, as his last bit of resistance to death broke.

Then his head broke the surface. He took a great gulp of air, breathing life back into his body. Reality washed over his mind, the oxygen allowing him to think again. He swallowed the air greedily, never before appreciating it more than he was now.

Hazily, Stanley considered how lucky he had been. Twice now, it had been pure, dumb luck that had kept him among the living. As much as he appreciated having luck on his side, he would be a fool to let Lady Fortune continue to decide his fate. He knew quite well how fickle she could be. He would rather have his life in other hands, preferably his own. He needed to stop letting himself get in these needlessly dangerous situations. If he didn't he would never make it out of here.

He looked all around. Everything looked the same, unfortunately. Dark sky, darker water. There was no telling which direction he should go. He hoped there was land somewhere. He couldn't stay afloat forever.

Stanley picked a direction and started kicking. It was tough to get going, since he could feel several bruises on his abdomen from when he hit the water. They made swimming quite painful. He eventually had to flip over and backstroke to ease the pressure on his injuries. It was easier to keep your breath and float, although it was much slower. But Stanley didn't need to be fast. All he needed was to survive.

So he kept this up, slowly moving through this vast sea. Minutes turned hours, and the hours began to pile up. Little by little it was getting harder to keep going, but he forced himself to dig deep and keep moving, inch by inch.

"If Bill can survive this, so can I." Stanly muttered to himself. He purposely ignored the fact that Bill had powers, which would help him get through these worlds in ways that Stanley, a human, can't. But he wouldn't let that discourage him. There had to be an exit somewhere out here. He would find it, or die trying.

After hours of floating around, wondering how he would survive, when he saw something that made his heart skip a beat. Land!

He could see it in the distance, bumpily breaking up the horizon in the distance. He had found it!

It appeared to be several miles away, several painful and difficult miles. As happy and rejuvenated seeing land made him feel, he still wasn't sure he could make it. It was a long way, and he was plain exhausted. Could he do this?

He had to try.

He returned to his slow swim, now with a goal in the distance. As he paddled, he noticed something that had escaped him before. The sky was a cloudy gray, like it was about to rain. But if he was under another world, and there was another world above that, then there couldn't be a sun here. So what was lighting the world? By all rights it should be pitch black.

Stanley sighed. Just another thing he didn't understand about this world. He would have to start finding out more soon.

He was shaken from his pondering by a splash behind him. He looked all around where the splash had been, but there was nothing to be seen in this dark water. A chill ran up his spine. He wasn't alone.

He sped up his swimming. He had to put some distance towards the distant land if he wanted to survive. He tried not to splash. Splashing attracted sharks, he remembered hearing. These probably weren't sharks, but it's not like doing this would hurt him.

As he swam he felt something grab his leg briefly. He shouted and kicked out and it released him. He sped up, although he knew he wouldn't be able to maintain this speed long. After a moment it grabbed again, harder. It tugged him below the water for a moment but he managed to kick away from its grip.

What was that thing? It didn't seem to be in a hurry to eat him. Perhaps it was a scavenger, and was going to wait until it was too tired to fight back. Maybe it was scared of him and was worried about whether it could defeat him or not. Maybe it liked playing with its food. Whatever the case was, Stanley had a little bit of time to think about how to get out of this. Unfortunately, he quickly realized he had literally nothing at his disposal. All he could hope for was that he could just outswim the creature. A futile goal to be sure, but it was all he had.

Stanley kept moving, and occasionally the creature would grab him. He would kick away but it always returned.

Stanley was surprised when both legs were grabbed. He kicked out of their grip, trying to get away. Were there two now? How was he supposed to deal with this? If only he had some way to fight back, or at least knew what they were. That could make a difference.

Stanley had been so distracted by the arrival of the creatures that he had not noticed how close he had gotten to the shore. He was maybe only a mile away now. He might just make it after all.

Granted, of course, that he wasn't eaten on the way.

He kept a steady pace as he got closer to land. Now that it was within reach he couldn't give up now. The creatures were keeping up, and it seemed as though their numbers were growing. Now barely a second lasted in after he broke free each time before he was tugged on by whatever was below the depths again.

Eventually Stanley saw what they were. One of the creatures poked its head up and looked Stanley in the eyes. It resembled a human child of about eight years old. This one was female, with curly brown hair. The only thing that gave away its lack of humanity was the tail that replaced human legs.

Mermaids. That was what had been harassing him.

Mermaids looked like normal human children, except they were part fish. These seemed a bit more...sinister than the ones he had seen back in Gravity Falls. The ones he had seen before had been fairly friendly, and by far one of the easiest of Gravity Falls' mysteries to study. The mermaids had been happy to help him document them. These, however, seemed a lot less friendly. Several of them surrounded him as he swam, very curious. Perhaps these were a different species. Maybe the ones in Gravity Falls had grown more peaceful over time than their cousins. It didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting to land before these tried to kill him.

"What are you?" The first mermaid asked slyly. "We have not seen one of your kind before." By now Stanley could see that there were at least a dozen of the beasts, surrounding him.

Stanley forced himself to keep swimming. He was heading towards this particular mermaid as it swam lazily ahead of him. He didn't want to mess with this one in particular. It seemed even more violent than the others. "I'm a human." He answered in between labored breaths.

The mermaid, annoyed for whatever reason with his answer, remarked to its comrades, "I don't like this one. It's boring. Are all humans boring?"

"Maybe we should see if it can swim underwater." Another offered, a redheaded boy.

"Let's not." Stanley pleaded. "I'm afraid I'm even more boring down there than up here." He really didn't like where this conversation was heading.

"Yes!" The leader said gleefully. "I love that idea! Drown it!"

The mermaids all attacked at once, grabbing his arms, his legs, his face, and even jumping into his back. Stanley struggled against them, throwing several off. He reached out and punched one, a small blond boy. The mermaid wisely backed away from the fray, blood streaming out of his nose.

But the others kept attacking. As small as they were, there were still enough of them to overpower him. They dragged him below the water, tugging him deeper and deeper. Stanley struggled, but couldn't get free from them all.

No! He couldn't die now! Not after everything he had gone through! But he couldn't find a way free.

Right when he had given up hope, the mermaids suddenly let him go. Before he could start swimming back up he started rising rapidly through the water, until he was completely out of the ocean. It was like some giant invisible hand had grabbed him and lifted him into the air. He floated above the water, unsure of what was happening. He shot towards the landmass like he was fired through a cannon. Far faster than if he had swam there he landed on the soft, sandy beach. He couldn't believe it. Sand. Actual sand. He was back on land! He wasn't sure if he would ever get back to land or not. One thing he knew for sure was that he wouldn't be going swimming anytime soon. It had kind of lost its charm with him.

He got to his feet, feeling confused. What had just happened? He should have died, but somehow he had been plucked out of the sea. Somehow he had survived. He looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. What he noticed was the last thing he expected to see. A triangular shadow loomed right in front of him. Stanley looked up, and there he was.

"Tom." He said, amazed at his luck once more. "You made it after all."

"I'm sorry I didn't go with you the first time." The triangle said softly, as though it expected Stanley to be angry.

"It's alright, Tom." Stanley said to the demon. He wasn't angry, even though he should have been. Maybe it's because Tom seemed more to him like a child than those mermaids did, despite how they looked. "You saved me. You came when it counted and that's what matters."

"So we're going to find our way out together?" Tom asked hopefully.

Stanley smiled. He didn't want to admit it, but he had actually missed the demon's company. "Yes we are, Tom. We're both going to get out of here. Together."

**And so ends another chapter. Sorry it's not more like the show, I try to keep up with their excellence but I can't quite do that. One thing I want to talk to you guys about real quick is that I have seen a lot of hateful comments pointed every which way about what happened. A lot of people are angry with Mabel, calling her selfish, and blaming her for the Weirdmageddon. A lot of other people are blaming Dipper for abandoning his sister when she needed him. Others are blaming Ford for causing all of this. There are even some who are mad at Blendin for some reason. That one I don't understand. I wouldn't be surprised if some people out there ranting about Soos and Stan, even though they are more than innocent here. Point being, stop it guys. I'm ashamed that you guys (you know who you are) are stooping to this. Everyone involved has made some mistakes here, and everyone is partially guilty. Dipper wants to utilize his potential and realize his dreams. Mabel doesn't want things to change. Ford is focused on saving the world. Idk what Blendin made a deal with Bill Cipher for, and I am surprisingly curious about it, but there is no reason to crucify him without knowing why. And yes, Dipper is being neglectful, yes Mabel is being selfish, and yes Ford should have trusted Mabel and Stan more. But they all had their reasons. We need to stop blaming them and give credit where credit is due: Bill "MFing" Cipher. He tricked them. He tricked all three of them at various points and got what he wanted. I applaud him for his manipulations. He is very good at what he does. He deserves the blame, not any of the Pines. **

**On a related note, I hope they give Bill some more characterization soon. Right now he is one of those "I want to destroy/rule the world" villains but he can be so much better. I have faith that Alex Hirsch will cover that soon, but right now he is in the Lich (Adventure Time villain) territory. Both have great potential, but until we get some backstory neither are living up to what they can do. Not saying that I don't like Bill or anything, I'm just hoping he takes that next step. Hopefully he will. For those who care, I'm still looking for ideas for that Pokémon story I mentioned in the previous chapter. If you have anything I can work with please let me know. Also, I forgot to say anything earlier, but please follow and favorite the story if you like it. I would appreciate that SO much. And leave a review of your thoughts. I'd like to hear them, even if they are negative. And if you do like it, you should check out my other stories. I think they are pretty great, and hopefully you will too. So with that said, I guess it's time to say goodbye for now. Goodbyes are so sad… but I guess it has to be done. **

***waves sadly* Byeeeeeee**


	8. Chapter 8

"**TV lied, man!"**

**Welcome back to another chapter of Through The Portal! This would normally be a chapter for Stan, but I decided he needs a break. Instead we will split it for two new characters, one that we have seen in the story and one that we have seen in the show. Both of these will have to do with how things are playing out in Gravity Falls right now, so even if Stan doesn't show up it still concerns him. That's all I want to say for now, so enjoy!**

Chapter 8

The man in the green cloak kicked open the door to his home. It was little more than a hut hidden in the tall grass, with only room for a bed and a small stove. He liked it this way. It was hard to find, and if he needed to get away he wasn't leaving much behind.

He kept his hand pressed against his injury, his breathing shallow. Even in the darkness the crimson blood stood out against his clothes. He needed to stitch the wound quickly or he wouldn't make it.

He cursed his own overconfidence. He had thought that the other Pines twin was dealt with. He was just some common grifter that had strolled through town. The man in the green cloak hadn't expected Stanford to last more than one hit. He had been tougher than expected.

The man in the green cloak swore to himself. He had been so close to saving everyone. Now the clone would survive, and Bill Cipher would use him to achieve his goals. Damn those Pines twins! The would be the doom of humanity.

He grunted as he poured water over his wound, cleaning it as well he could. He took a long strip of cloth and cut off a small piece at the end. He used the small bit of cloth to help wipe away the blood around the wound. He then took the long strip, and wrapped it around his abdomen, bandaging it over the wound.

He grimaced. This was going to put his plans back at least a couple of weeks. Time that Bill could use to ruin everything. He couldn't afford this!

He wondered, not for the first time, why Bill wanted to do this. Why would he want to destroy humanity? Did the author know that? Did Bill even know that? Maybe there wasn't a reason. Maybe Bill was just an agent of chaos, like that clown guy in that one TV show. What was his name? Joker or something. Maybe Bill was like that. He hoped not. Someone with a reason for doing things could be reasoned with. Someone crazy often couldn't. If Bill just wanted them all destroyed just to destroy something, then they were doomed. He was too powerful to be stopped. But if they could find what he wanted, find some sort of weakness, then humanity stood a chance.

He glanced down at his bandage. It was turning from white to red fast, soaking in blood. He grimaced. He couldn't do this. Everything was working against him. How could anyone expect him to win against the power of a demon?

He pulled a picture out of his pocket. It had a man, a woman, and a small girl. All were smiling, all were happy. He sighed. His wife and his baby girl were still out there, in the town. They didn't know what was happening in the shadows. He had to leave them, so he could protect them.

"I can't give up." He said, a tear falling down his cheek. "For them. I can't let them down. I can't allow Bill to win."

For the sake of Gravity Falls, for the world, and for his family, he had to kill the Pines Twins.

Tad huddled in the dark corner, crying. He was ten now, and his dad told him that he needed to grow up soon. But he couldn't. He didn't want to become like the other kids. They were mean and he didn't want to be like that.

Tad Strange lived up to his name. Since he could walk his parents could tell he wasn't like other kids. He always knew things he shouldn't, and always found mysterious creatures everywhere he went. It was like they were attracted to him, as though he were a magnet for the abnormal and weird things that occurred in Gravity Falls. His parents had been telling him for as long as he could remember to be normal, to behave. He tried, but nothing he ever did worked. If he played tag with the other kids, gnomes would join in. If he went for a walk through the woods, he would find all sorts of secrets. He couldn't help it, it just happened. But his parents didn't see it that way. Neither did the other adults, the teachers and baseball coaches and store owners. They all believed he was a wild and dysfunctional child that caused chaos wherever he went. He tried to explain that he wasn't doing anything, but no one ever listened.

But even worse were the kids. They resented him. They didn't like him. They thought he didn't belong, and therefore he didn't. If they played a game Tad was always the last one picked, and whoever ended up with him always complained. No one wanted to talk to him unless they had to. Tad was lonely. So, so lonely. He hated it.

Just today he had gone exploring through the forest with some other kids when a giant bear with a bunch of heads had appeared. It had tried talking to Tad, but all the kids ran away before they could be eaten. When they had gotten back out of the forest where it was safe one of the other kids had glared at Tad and said what he had heard his entire life. "This is your fault, Tad! Why can't you just be normal?"

Tad had tried to plead his case. After all, it wasn't him that had led them to that weird bear. But no one would listen. They all blamed him. "Just leave us alone, Tad." One girl had said. "You always get us in trouble. Just go away."

The other kids agreed. "Yeah no one likes you. Just get out of here and don't come back."

Crying, Tad fled. He ran through the streets of the Oregon town as the sun set above, casting an orange and black contrast on everything. He finally stopped in a small alley and sat down behind a large dumpster. He didn't want to be seen crying and he didn't think anyone would find him here. He didn't want to be found anyway. They would just blame him some more, maybe yell at him. Better to just stay here where no one was being mean to him.

Hours passed until the moon was shining high above the buildings on either side of him. He stared up at the stars. They were beautiful, twinkling up so high. He wished he could see them himself someday. They had sent some spaceships into the sky, so maybe he could go on one of those. He hoped so. Maybe the aliens he met would be nice to him.

"Feeling glum, kid?"

Tad glanced around and saw, silhouetted against the bright moon, a triangle. It zoomed closer, and Tad could see it was yellow, and had a hat on and only had one eye. Tad giggled. It was one of the strangest things he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of strange things.

"Did ya hear me?" The triangle asked him. "What's your name kid?"

"Uh, Tad. Tad Strange." Tad said, wiping away the tears from his cheeks.

"So what's got you so bothered, Tad?" The triangle asked, settling down to sit next to him.

"Just people being mean." Tad said sourly.

"Ew. That's rough, kid."

"I wish I could just be normal." Tad sobbed. "Then people would love me."

"What if I told you I could help you with that?" The triangle asked.

"Really?" Tad exclaimed. "You could really do that?"

"Anything for you, kid." The triangle said pleasantly. "But in exchange I would need to borrow something from you. Got a deal?" He held out his hand.

"Yes!" Tad said excitedly. "Anything!" He shook hands with the triangle, cementing the deal.

"Great!" The triangle said, his entire body suddenly turning red. Tad became scared. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

"As promised, you will become normal. And as promised, I will be borrowing something." The triangle leapt at Tad and he fell backwards into the wall. Only, for some reason he didn't. His body was still where he had been sitting, but Tad wasn't. He watched in shock as his body stood up against his will and turned around, an eerie grin on its face. "Thanks for the bod, kid. I promise you'll get it back, although I can't promise it will be in good shape. Then you can be as normal as you want!" His body cackled maniacally then walked away. Tad watched in horror, afraid to fight against this evil power. His body disappeared around a corner, leaving Tad even more alone than he had been before.

**I know, I know, I'm horrible for what I just did to Tad Strange. It was just an idea that occurred to me as I was considering who would be possessed by Bill. Now Tad has a reason for being so normal! I'm evil. Anyway, I thought you guys should know that the guy with the first POV actually IS NOT OC. I know, he seems like he is, but he has been mentioned before in the show, although you would never guess who he is. The only hints I will give is that he is around Stan's age and that he has only been mentioned not seen. So if you really want to know think of old people that have been mentioned. There ya go. Also, if you have any ideas for the Pokémon story I've been mentioning let me know, and be sure to fav follow and review. Catch y'all next chapter, where I will have my thoughts on the episode that just came out, "Weirdmageddon Part 1"! Haven't watched it yet(I'm going to catch the 2****nd**** showing in a couple of hours), but I'm sure it will be a doozy. I am especially curious as to why Abuelita is a chair now. Got major Beauty and the Beast vibes from that. Anyway, see you later!**


	9. Chapter 9

"**WE PUNCH WHAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND!"**

"**Ah! The nachos tricked me!"**

"**Oh no! Tony! Was it Tony? I can never remember his name."**

**Guys I am so, so sorry it took this long! I realize I haven't posted anything since before Weirdmageddon Part 1, so I am a little late for that. For about a month I have been getting a ridiculous amount of homework, along with a handful of tests and a few stressful class projects. That dropped my writing to about zero during that time, so I haven't been able to work on this for a while. But I'm back now, and ready to keep writing full steam ahead. Now, I think I'm only going to cover my thoughts of Part 1 here, and cover Part 2 in the next chapter. As far as the episode as a whole: Holy shit did you guys see that? That was so weird, as the name would suggest, and so amazing. I think it might be my second favorite episode of the series after Not What He Seems. So much funny and amazing things happen, including the most incredible opening I've seen in a cartoon show. Wendy has proven just how badass she is, and Dipper gave a really heartfelt speech that really changed Gideon's heart. Meanwhile, we saw anime versions of Dipper and Wendy (complete with Speed Racer in the backseat) along with all of the other hilarious changes, Abuelita became a sofa, Gompers is now gigantic, Ghost-Eyes is revealed to be a philosophy major, Louie C. K. guest stars as the Horrifying Sweaty One-Armed Monstrosity, Preston Northwest had his face rearranged in a terrifying and graphic way, Soos has become a wandering desperado, AND BILL KILLED FREAKING TIME BABY! But its ok, he'll be back in 1,000 years, and he'll be cranky. Oh and J. became his own award. That's something to think about. All in all, every crazy amazing thing that could have happened did happen, and there isn't much more you could ask for. Now, with that done, let's get on to the chapter.**

Chapter 9

Stanly gazed around. Behind him was a dark, turbulent ocean, crashing against the rocky shore loudly. Ahead was a grassy plain, without even a tree or a bush. Behind that was a dark forest of tall pine trees. They grew very close together, almost creating a wall of bark. It reminded Stanley of the forest back in Gravity Falls. He wondered if those trees guarded just as many secrets as back at home.

He glanced at his companion, the demon named Tom. "I suppose there is no choice. We have to go into that forest." But Tom didn't seem to hear him. He was gazing at the forest with a fervent expression. "Tom? Are you okay? Tom?"

"It's been so long since I've seen the ocean." The demon said wistfully. "Or trees. So, so long."

"I can't imagine what that's been like." Stanley said.

"I know it's not Earth. I know it's not home. Bu this place really feels like it." Tom said, gazing at the forest in the distance.

"It does kind of remind me of Earth." Stanley conceded.

"Can we just stay here? At least for a little while?" Tom asked.

Stanley considered it. This was by far the most hospitable of the three places he had seen on this side of the portal. He really needed to find food and fresh water soon, as well as a place to sleep. His frantic escape from Bill, his exploration of the previous two levels, and the horrendous swim had really taken it out of him. But if there were pine trees hopefully there would be other familiar elements, maybe some edible ones.

"We might not have a choice." Stanley answered. "I'm not in a good condition to keep traveling. We will need to stop soon whether we want to or not."

They soon arrived at the pine forest. Stanley glanced at Tom. Despite so long away, Tom didn't seem scared at all. Just excited. Stanley supposed it was like seeing something you loved after a long time away. Like when he had seen Stan once again. It had felt impossibly good to see his brother.

Stanley sighed. Thirty years…that made the time apart seem like nothing. Now half a lifetime would go by before he saw anyone or anything he knew ever again. He wondered, would he be excited like Tom was now? Or would he be scared of how things had changed? These thoughts were troubling to him. He had no idea what the answer was, a feeling he didn't like.

He crept over the first roots, past the first dark trunks. Tom followed closely behind his shoulder, somewhat lighting their way. They heard a screech in the distance, causing both to freeze. After a heartbeat Stanley let out the breath he had been holding and kept walking. He already had the feeling he was being watched, but he had no idea from where. It was incredibly dark, and the purple light that shone from Tom didn't allow Stanley to see much farther than a few steps away. Carnivorous creatures could only be a few feet away, surrounding him, and he would never have known.

"I don't like this." Tom whimpered. "It's too dark here."

"Yes, it is rather dark. But there is nothing to fear from that. There was plenty of darkness back on Earth, after all. Were as safe as we could be, Tom."

A twig snapped a few paces to their left. Stanley turned on a dime, ready to run if something attacked. But nothing did.

"I want to get out of here." Tom said. "I really, really don't like this."

Stanley hated to say it, but he agreed with Tom. He had a sinking feeling that something was wrong here. Like something dark resided here. Not as in darkness dark, but as in evil dark. It reminded Stanley of the fury he had seen in only a few creatures he had come across. Only level 10 ghosts, vampires, and Bill Cipher himself had matched this evil. Whatever stalked this forest was truly a dark force.

An owl hooted behind them. Stanley laughed. "That's a good sign!"

"What?" Tom said fearfully. "What is?"

"The owl. It wouldn't be hooting if there were any danger. For now at least, we are safe."

Tom nodded, but didn't look convinced. "If you say so, Stanley."

They continued traveling deeper into the woods. Soon enough all traces of light behind them was gone, replaced with shadows. The occasional beam of light snuck through the treetops, but besides that Stanley was completely dependent on Tom and his light. Every once in a while they would hear a distant howl, or a not so distant twig snap, but they had yet to see any creatures. Nothing had dared to show its face to them yet.

After a while Stanley sped up their space. They needed to find something- anything- soon. Nothing seemed like it was going to try to stop him so he could go as fast as he pleased. And right now his need for food and water meant he needed to go fast, and find something before he couldn't move anymore.

He lasted almost an hour like this before his knee gave out to pure exhaustion. He collapsed against a tree, unable to move any farther. "Tom. Tom!" he croaked. "I need you to keep searching find some water. Or some food. Please. I need it."

Tom shuddered. "You want me to go through here alone? No!"

"Tom, you have to. I need you to. Please." Stanley could barely breathe at the moment. If Tom refused to help him then he was dead.

"But there is something out there. I know there is! If I leave you it might get me."

Stanley sighed. He had to make Tom understand that he had nothing to fear. "Tom, you are a demon. You are without a doubt the most powerful thing in this forest. I am almost certain that you are the reason nothing has attacked us. Not me, not anything else. They are purely afraid of you. You have the power here, Tom."

"You're telling the truth?" Tom asked. "They won't mess with me?"

Stanley nodded. Even that was a struggle for him now. "You are completely safe. I promise."

"I'll go find you some food then!" Tom said, sounding relieved. "Water if I can." He zoomed off, leaving Stanley in darkness.

Stanley got to work as quickly as his tired limbs would let him. These creatures were likely lovers of darkness, making him a much more appetizing meal now that Tom and his light were gone. He needed light soon, before they attacked. They were probably approaching already.

Thankfully, only a small portion of the various objects had fallen out of his pockets. He quickly found his matchbox, lit a match, and pulled a nearby branch to him. He gathered some leaves, tied some floss around them, and held the match up to his makeshift torch. The flame grew quickly, soon casting light all around him.

But in a nearby bush Stanley could see the light reflected back by two small orbs. Eyes. There were more around that pair. Several creatures were there, watching the flame.

"Oh shit." He remarked. "They're here already." The bush shook and a dark limb shot out, then several more, as the creatures emerged from the bush. Stanley held out his torch in front of him, his only defense from the horrifying…

Gnomes?

Several of the small cuddly creatures crept towards him, each with a ravenous look in their eyes. Stanley first felt relief. It was only gnomes. They were among the most harmless of the various mysteries he had uncovered in Gravity Falls, only dangerous to themselves. He was safe, for now. Then he felt confusion. These seemed a lot…. hungrier than their Gravity Falls counterparts. More violent. Stanley recalled that the same thing had happened with the mermaids. Was there something about being on this side of the portal that made them more feral?

One of the gnomes pointed at Stanley. "What are you? We've never seen anything like you."

"I am a human." Stanley answered carefully. He didn't want to be attacked again. He had to talk his way out of this if possible. He didn't want a repeat of the mermaid incident.

"Is human food?" another gnome asked.

"No, human not food." Stanley told them quickly. "Human friend." He smiled, hoping it would seem friendly. The gnomes didn't seem convinced.

"What friend?" the first gnome asked.

"A friend is someone you don't eat." Stanley told him. That, after all, was the most important thing he had to worry about right now. Not getting eaten.

A third gnome wrinkled his nose. "I don't like friend. Friend sound bad." A few others muttered agreements. They creeped a bit closer.

"No, you don't want to eat me!" Stanley said. This was going downhill quickly. He had to fix this fast. "I don't taste very good, and I can help you find other things to eat that you would like a lot more. Doesn't that sound good?"

They all glanced to one gnome, who had been silent throughout this. He was slightly taller than the others, and his beard was the darkest of the group. He must be the leader. Still, being a gnome, he wasn't overly intimidating.

The leader gnome gave a small shake of his head. The others cried out a large war cry then charged at Stanley.

Unable to do much else, Stanley waved his handmade torch back and forth. They cringed away from it, shirking from the flames. His fiery defense lasted for a few moments, but then one slipped past and bit his arm. He cried out and swatted it away with his free hand. He kicked another, then hit a third with his torch. The poor gnome's beard lit afire, and the gnome ran in circles screaming as it burned his facial hair away. The strange sight distracted him just long enough for another couple to attack. One he managed to punch, knocking it out. But the other bit his hand, causing him to drop the torch.

Now unarmed and facing bad numerical odds, Stanley fished into his pockets again, this time pulling out a pen. He clicked it open. "I'll be damned if I let myself die to a bunch of gnomes!" he stabbed the closest one repeatedly. To his pleasant surprise the pen actually broke skin and the gnome began bleeding. This pen ended up being a better weapon than he had believed.

He tossed a couple away, and stabbed another in the eye. It gave him a large enough opening to lunge for his torch again. He picked it up, waving it at the gnomes fiercely. They backed away in fear of the fire. Now there were only about six or seven left that weren't dead or unconscious.

The remaining gnomes looked to their leader. The commanding gnome glared at Stanley for a moment then motioned the others after him. Defeated, the gnomes disappeared back into the underbrush.

After they left, Stanley let out a sigh of relief. That encounter turned out to be far more dangerous than he would have believed. Never in his wildest dreams would he have ever thought that he might lose his life to gnomes, but it had happened. For some reason the creatures here were darker and more violent than their Gravity Falls counterparts.

He checked his new injuries. The bite on his arm didn't look that bad, but the bite on his hand was bleeding and seemed to be swelling around the wound. He considered for the first time that gnomes might be poisonous. He hoped not. It wasn't as if he didn't have enough ways to die right now.

A bright light came crashing through the tree branches overhead. "Stanley! Staaaannnnllllleeeeeyyyyy!"

"Over here! Tom!" Stanley waved his torch around so that the demon could find him. Tom wheeled around in the air and floated over to him.

"I found it! I found- oh what happened to you?" Tom asked, concerned.

"I got into a fight with some gnomes. They didn't do too much damage. What did you find?"

"There is a spring about half a mile from here. It's beautiful! It even has a little waterfall, and some little fish. You'll like it." Stanley felt like praising the heavens. Fresh water! Now all he needed was food. He glanced around him. Maybe he had some.

"It's kill or be killed. And I have to eat something." He muttered as he picked up one of the dead gnomes, the one that had burned alive. "Hey Tom, could you carry me there? I don't know if I can make it myself."

Tom looked doubtful. "I can't carry you that far. I'm not strong enough."

"Maybe we can take it in chunks. You can carry me for a little while, then rest. We can do this."

Tom reluctantly agreed. He used his powers to lift Stanley and the gnome corpses. When he couldn't carry them anymore they stopped to rest. It took five trips and about two hours, but they reached the spring Tom had found. Stanley drank his fill of water then set up a fire nearby to cook one of the gnomes. After he had eaten his fill, he searched his pockets and pulled out something.

The cover of the red book had a silver hand on it. With his bloodstained pen, Stanley carefully wrote the number four on the cover. He gently opened the book to the first, blank page. He scrawled "Gnomes at the top of the page. He considered for a moment on what he should write. Should he do it how he did before, or just compare the new breed with the old?

"What are you doing?" Tom asked.

"I'm writing a journal entry over my time here. It will be very important to document my travels here, in case they can help anyone later on if they come here. Everything we come across, everything we see, I will catalog in here for research."

"Sounds important." Tom remarked.

"It is." Stanley said with a smile. "It's more important than you could possibly believe."

**And that's it for this time. Are you guys still enjoying this story? I haven't heard any reviews in a while, so I have no idea what your opinions on this are. Just letting you know, I'm still looking for ideas for the Pokémon story I have planned. If you have anything on that please let me know. Beyond that, I think I'm done talking. If you like this story, please fave and follow, and review if you can. Check out my other stories if you want, I got stuff for Avatar, Korra, and Harry Potter, along with future plans for more. Thanks for reading, guys! See you next time!**

"**Quiet honey, the grownups are talking."**

"**Anybody want to get in my mouth?"**

"**My body is a temple! How dare you?" Never change, Justin Roiland.**

"**Have we, the prisoners, become the wardens?"**

"**No, we don't have that, but we do have this thing where our allergies totally act up at the same time."**


	10. Chapter 10

"**We have a doctorate degree in hunkiness! Also criminal and international law."**

"**Is the entire ground a bouncy castle? "Do I hear 80s music?" "And does the air smell like childlike wonder?"**

"**Yeah! Wiggity-Wiggity-whats up, dude-bros? I'm Dippy Fresh! I like skateboarding, supporting my sister, and punctuating every sentence with a high five!"**

**Hello again everyone! I'm back with a new chapter, as promised. Sorry it has been taking too long, I'm afraid I can't really put these out regularly at this point. Hopefully in the future. But anyway, this happened to come out on Christmas (it isn't a special or anything, I just happened to finish this now. Or then, since many of you will be reading this way into the future. Hi future people! How ya doing? Do we still use cars in your time? Who's President? Yeah.. that was awkward). Merry Christmas! Anyway, my thoughts on "Escape From Reality": That was a really, really good episode. It wasn't quite as funny as the last episode, but was just as crazy, although it had more of a Mabel-crazy than a Bill-crazy. This episode really made me sure that they will nail the finale, which would give them a near perfect series. Honestly, I think if they really get the finale right, Gravity Falls might just replace Avatar as my all-time favorite show. Both have simply been amazing. Anyway, back to the point, this episode served a really important focus for the series as a whole. Not only did we reunite the Mystery Twins, but we also find Stan and the rest of the survivors. But what was truly important about this episode was to remind us of just why we care about Dipper and Mabel. Why we care about them individually, why we care about them together (and no I do not mean pinecest), why they are so powerful working together, and just how much they need each other. It was a truly heartwarming episode that I will remember as one of my favorites. And now on to the story.**

Chapter 10

The car creaked to a halt outside the small house. Stan sighed. He didn't really want to be doing this. He had asked around town for Fiddleford McGucket, and had gotten directions from a nice old couple running a convenience store that he lived here. Most people only knew him as a friend of Stanley's, and Stan couldn't find any worthwhile information about him. Like Stanley he was a recluse to the rest of the town, a mysterious stranger they tolerated. Besides what Stanley had told him, Stan was going in blind.

It was a small, simple place. A tiny house on a tiny plot of land, a couple of trees on opposite sides of the front yard, one with a tire swing hanging off the lowest, sturdiest branch. A swing set stood vigil next to the fence, a small wooden thing. Stan got out of the car, scoping out the place. He had a history of needing quick escapes, and searching them out had become a habit of his. Just because this place didn't look dangerous didn't mean it wouldn't be. He knocked on the front door, unsure of what kind of man would answer. After a few moments he knocked again. Maybe Fiddleford was out for groceries or something. Stanley wouldn't have sent him here if Fiddleford was gone. He knocked again.

"No one is ever going to answer." Said a soft voice behind him.

Stan whirled around to see a kid standing by the fence gate. He had light brown hair, a large nose, and wore a beat up cap low over his eyes. His clothes were dirty and scruffy, as though he had been wearing them for quite a while. His mouth quivered as though he wanted to cry but couldn't let himself.

Stan quickly regained his composure. "Uh, who are you? And do you know if Fiddleford McGucket lives here?"

The kid was quiet for a moment. Stan remembered the swing set, and then the tire swing, and put two and two together. "Oh crap… you…. he has a kid… aw shit."

"He's gone." The kid muttered sullenly. "He's been gone for a few months. And he's never coming back."

Bad news for Stan. "What do you mean he's gone, kid? He isn't… dead, is he? Speak up!"

"Something happened to him. He changed. I was used to him not caring about me, but it got to where it didn't even seemed like he knew who I was anymore. Then he just disappeared one day." His expression got darker. "I don't know where he went, and I don't really care. I'm better off without him."

Stan didn't know what to do. Now Fiddleford was lost and Stan had no way of finding him. All his leads were gone, and all he knew was that he needed this Fiddleford guy and Stanley's journals to fix that damn machine in Stanley's basement. Without those he couldn't get his brother back. But how was he going to find Fiddleford now?

"You got a name, kid?" Stan asked gruffly.

The kid hesitated before answering. "Tate McGucket."

"Now Tate, I'm looking for your dad. He can help me find something I'm looking for, so I need to find him. Do you have any idea where he could have gone? Anything he might have said?"

"I told you, nothing." Tate spat back. "Dad left and I don't want him to come back. There is food in the fridge and I don't have to do any chores. Life is perfect!"

Stan glanced back at the house. "Where's your mom kid?" Was this kid all alone? Stan had a sneaking suspicion that McGucket's disappearance wasn't just his problem.

"She's back at home. I would call her, but I can't. I don't know her number."

Poor kid. Stan knew what he was going though, to be all alone. He had felt that way for more years than he could count.

"Hey kid. I'm gonna go look around for your dad. You can come with me, if you want. This place hasn't had its bills paid in a while, I reckon. And I could get you a burger or something."

The kid considered it for a moment. But then he drew away. "My mom always told me never to get rides from strangers."

Stan nodded slowly. "Yeah, I wouldn't trust me either. Take care kid." His hands in his pockets, he walked back to his car. Hopefully McGucket hadn't left town. Stan just had to check everywhere.

It ended up taking all day and well into night.

The car creaked to a halt outside the dump. Stan sighed. Junk was all over the place. He had been forced to park on top of half a mattress, and it was as good as he could have gotten in this mess.

Stan looked left and right, seeing large mounds of garbage and huge ruined sculptures of what had once been a boat, a pile of cars, and small building. "This is sick." He muttered, walking on a half-rotted dresser. "There is no way anyone is out here." But he had to make sure. He couldn't afford to leave any bit of this place unturned. His brother needed him.

He spent half an hour searching, and he soon became sure that this place was indeed empty. He would have to check somewhere else. Maybe McGucket had left town…

"'You'll be able to find him easily enough' my ass, Stanley." He muttered, quoting the letter his brother had left him.

He had almost reached his car when he heard something cough. He whirled around, but there was no one there. He was about to walk away again when a glass bottle fell and broke, about twenty yards ahead of him. Stan picked up a broken bar of metal off the ground and approached carefully. There was a hole there, something he had missed before. He looked carefully in the hole. There was something moving in there. An animal? A person?

"NO NO NO DON'T HURT ME!" The man squealed. Stan backed up. Anyone living in this place would be very dangerous. Or at the very least have diseases.

"Come on out! Now!" Stan ordered the person. He held up his bar of metal, just in case.

The man crawled out of the hole slowly, standing very awkwardly, as though he had been crouching for a long time. Heck, he probably had. He had a scraggly blonde beard with hints of grey in it, and wore a large, brimmed hat. He didn't look that old, so Stan figured it was his living conditions. "Don't you worry about me, I'm no danger… DON'T HIT ME DON'T HIT ME DON'T HIT ME!"

Stan was taken aback. This man must be a lunatic. "Calm down…."

"Imma find me some beans! Mmmm I love me some beans!" the man said, cackling. "When Gravity Falls and Earth becomes Sky, fear the beast with just one eye! NOOOOOOO NONONONONONONO! GOTTA MAKE THE VOICES STOP, MAKE EM GO AWAY!" he dropped down to the ground and crawled back into his hole.

Stan backed away. This was fucking crazy. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Answer me, dammit!"

But the psycho trash dweller was lost in his own world again. "Ooh hoo, where did I put my glasses? They were mighty dern expensive, McGucket liked those. I would love some bacon, hot dog! Maybe some rat could do for now."

"Hey wait!" Stan exclaimed. "Did you say McGucket? As in Fiddleford McGucket?"

This seemed to catch the man's attention. "Yessiree I did, I reckon. I know a McGucket. Also know a badger, too, if you be needing one of those."

"No, I just need this McGucket guy. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Oh yeah I know where he's at! Come follow me, I'll show you McGucket!" the crazy man scampered out of the hole and ran deeper into the junkyard. Stan quickly followed, happy to have at last found a lead to McGucket. He was one step closer!

They traveled quickly, through an elaborate path of junk terrain. Over waste, under garbage, and wading through trash, it was disgusting work. It quickly all became a blur, and Stan was soon hopelessly lost. Now this lunatic could be his only way out of here, at least until morning. And he didn't want to stay overnight.

"Lookie here! I found him!" the crazy man shouted.

Stan caught up. "Wha? Where is he? Where's McGucket?"

The lunatic reached into a mound of trash and pulled out a squirming, angry badger. "See? See? I told you I would find my badger! Isn't he just the cutest darn thing you ever did see?"

"Dammit! Where is McGucket at?" Stan said angrily.

"McGucket? Ha that's what they call me! Ya should a just asked!" the lunatic grinned toothily.

Stan's heart sunk. This was McGucket? This couldn't be McGucket. Stanley had called him a crazy genius. But this guy was just crazy. What a disappointment. Stan suddenly remembered what the kid had told him. _Something happened to him. He changed. I was used to him not caring about me, but it got to where it didn't even seemed like he knew who I was anymore. Then he just disappeared one day_. Maybe this really was McGucket. But then what had happened to him?

McGucket was trying to gnaw on his own foot, and the badger was trying to help. No, this man couldn't help get Stanley back. He was a lost cause. Just another dead end lead. But then Stan remembered something. The journal! McGucket might not be any help, but the journal still could be. It had everything Stanley knew about this damn town, including how to build that machine!

"Hey you, cooko brain, where did you put the journal?" Stan asked McGucket urgently.

McGucket looked up from his gnawing. "Journal? Now what in tarnation would I need one of those for?"

Stan sighed. That was all the answer he needed to know that McGucket didn't know where it was. At least, not anymore. But where could it be? The house was the most likely answer, but Stan had been let down enough so far to know that he would be very lucky indeed to find it where he hoped it was. Well he had better go check anyway. Maybe he could bring the kid some food or something. It was the least he could do.

"Hey, can you lead me back to my car?" Stan asked McGucket. The crazy coot got a gleam in his eye and Stan had a feeling he wouldn't find his car for a while. He sighed as McGucket once again lead him through the maze of trash.

Tate McGucket sat on his porch, feeling sorry for himself. Why hadn't he just gone with that man? He hadn't been able to eat much besides pinecones and berries in a couple of weeks and when a chance to finally eat real food again had come he let it pass! What was wrong with him? Maybe his dad had been right to leave him. He was just a sorry excuse for a son, wasn't he?

"Hey." Said a voice nearby.

Tate looked up to see a child standing there in the yard. The wind picked up and lightning flashed behind him. He had a weird smile, one that seemed bigger than it should be. And were his eyes almost yellow?

"Uh, hey." Tate answered, unsure.

The boy's gaze seemed to see beyond Tate and see inside of him as well. "You look lonely. My name is Bi-Tad, and I'll be your friend. What's your name?"

"Tate." He said unsurely. "Tate McGucket."

It seemed impossible, but somehow Tad's smile got even bigger. "Oh good, good. Tell me, Tate, was your father ever reading a book? One with a number on it? Because I would VERY much like to see it."

The lightning flashed again before everything became black. Everything but those yellow eyes.

**So what do you guys think of this chapter? As you can tell, I'm trying to give some of the characters that wouldn't have normally gotten much insight in the show (such as Tad Strange, Tate McGucket, and others) a chance to breathe and even shine on their own. I will try to integrate even more of the less explored aspects of Gravity Falls in time, and I have a good idea of where I'm going with Stan's side of the story. Stanley's (Ford's) isn't quite as clear to me, but I'll live. So while I'm here, I'd like to bring up the fact that the show is ending. Like most of you, it breaks my heart to see this amazing show leave us. But as much as it hurts, I know it's the right thing to do. I think they could have done on for a third season if they had made "Not What He Seems" the season two finale, but Alex Hirsh has made his decision and I will respect that. It's better to go out Avatar-style than to keep going like SpongeBob has, so I think they are making the right choice. It's sad to see them go, but at least we will have great memories to hold on to. Besides, as Dipper would tell us, even though the story has ended it doesn't mean the mysteries are over. So hold on to that. Before I go, I'd like to remind you to fave, follow, and review, and be sure to check out my other stuff. I released a Star Wars one shot a week ago to pay my respects to the new movie, so check that out. Also, if you have any recommendations for the Pokémon story I mentioned before be sure to PM me or tell me in your review. Thanks for reading, guys! I really appreciate it! Till next time! #TakeBackTheFalls**

"**Mabeland's rainbows have colors only bees and art students could see."**

"**Hand me a microphone, Xyler" (drops mic) "Totally righteous, bro!" "Are we even brothers?" "I don't know!"**

"**Hey take a chill pill! Those grow on trees here!"**

"**Flip-a-dip-dip!"(I know I quoted Dippy Fresh a lot, and I don't particularly like him as a character but damn is he quotable)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! I know it's been a little while, but I am back. As I'm sure many of you who are reading this in the following days after I post this, the finale just happened (For those of you reading this a long time in the future, does the pain of it ending go away?). Gravity Falls is over. I wanted to get this chapter out the day the finale happened before it ended, but this weekend a LOT of personal and very painful stuff happened in my life, and I wasn't able to get this done then. But here it is now. Now, in the time since I posted the last chapter, I came up with a schedule for my writing. I am going to try putting out a chapter a week, every Tuesday (with the exception of this story, which I had intended to put up on Monday but that didn't happen, and a Star Wars one-shot on May 4****th****. If you don't know why then think about it) and I am switching off between three stories (check out my other two please!), so expect a chapter for this every three weeks. Granted, of course, that I keep up with it. Honestly it will be a miracle if I can, but I will try. I'll have a semi review of the finale after the chapter, and I should probably get to the story because I've rambled on for too long. Enjoy!**

**P. S. Time skip!**

Chapter 11

"Look at this!" Stanley said excitedly, peering over a small red flower. "It looks similar to many flowers we would have found on Earth, but like many other things here, it is actually quite different!"

Tom followed along, hovering about four feet off the ground. It was amazing how bored he could look with so few facial features. "Where are all of these special flowers coming from? It is crazy how many 'anomalies' you have been able to find in just a week."

"I know!" Stanley said, oblivious to Tom's annoyed tone. "I love this world! It's like Gravity Falls, but to the extreme!"

They had spent a week wandering through the forest they had found, enough time to find plenty of food, water, and many, many anomalies. Stanley had been in heaven, and had already filled up a third of Journal 4. Tom had been his first entry, and had proven to be a much more tolerant test subject than Bill had ever been. He had discovered much more about dream demons, as well as a large number of other things including mermaids and gnomes. Stanley was actually somewhat worried that he wouldn't have enough paper, even though he had brought five extra empty books with him.

"I think I'll call you the Gnome Blood Flower." Stanley said, drawing the flower with as good a detail as he could manage on a fresh page. He toed the flower, and it led to no reaction beyond being moved slightly like a normal flower would. "So far doesn't seem to have any special properties."

He chuckled, causing Tom to groan. The triangle knew what was coming next. "But as we both know, that isn't the case here." He winked to an invisible audience.

"Why am I still with you?" Tom asked himself.

Stanley pulled a pen out from his jacket pocket and carefully poked at the stem. The flower stiffened up for a moment, then relaxed again. "Interesting, interesting." Stanley said, making some notes in his journal. "What about if I try this?" He stuck the pen gently into the middle of the flower and the petals quickly wrapped around it like a trap. Stanley let go with a gasp as his pen disappeared inside the flower. A moment later the petals opened back up to reveal the pen to be gone. Stanley grinned as he drew another pen. "It has strong acidic capabilities and is carnivorous. Probably eats bees and other insects." He scribbled furiously into the journal.

"When are we actually going to do something worthwhile?" Tom asked. "When you told me you were a scientist I thought we would be doing something more than looking at flowers. When are we going to do something exciting?"

"The Gnomes weren't exciting enough for you?" Stanley asked, putting the journal away. "Well that's alright, Tom. We will find more dangerous creatures soon, I'm sure. I think our adventures home will be quite fraught with peril." He looked around for something new to investigate.

Tom sighed loudly, exasperated.

"What is it, Tom?"

"You really think it will be that easy?" Tom asked darkly.

"What are you talking about?" Stanley asked his triangle friend, concerned.

"To get home!" Tom yelled. "You have no idea how deep in all of this we are, do you? We aren't ANYWHERE near home! There are entire dimensions sitting between us and Gravity Falls and the rest of Earth. We have thirty years to get back, and yes that's a long time. But you are just human. You don't have the ability to fathom just how big an obstacle just a single dimension is!"

Stanley was worried. Tom wasn't acting like himself. Usually he was almost childlike, with fear and wonder shaping many of his actions. These words seemed too…. Bill-like. There was anger. And a dry humor, as Stanley felt like Tom had relished reminding Stanley of how frail his human existence was. It seemed like Tom had aged a good ten years and gained some attitude problems. What was causing this?

"Do you really think thirty years is enough? We have to navigate millions of dimensions, most of which are far vaster than our old one, and find a TINY hole that could be anywhere. And yet here we are, playing with FLOWERS! Don't you want to go home, Stanley?" There was a pause of silence before he added, "Or did you lie to me?"

"No, no no no no no…" Stanley said softly. "I- I wouldn't- "

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Tom roared. His single eye turned a deep red. "We were never going home, were we?" Strange things were happening. The wind had picked up dramatically. Leaves were swirling all around. Dark clouds rolled in, casting everything into a strange grey light.

"We were always going to go home!" Stanley pleaded. He knew he was one wrong word from death. "I promise you! I will get you back to Earth, Tom!"

Suddenly the ground started shaking. Stanley thought that it was over for him. _Sorry Stan_, he thought. Then he noticed that Tom seemed very confused. Stanley put two and two together and realized that whatever was causing the rumbling it wasn't his demon friend. He looked around, and could see the trees shaking uncontrollably to his left. Stanley pulled out his makeshift crossbow that he had crafted three days ago. "Exciting enough yet, Tom?" He muttered.

Then a massive creature burst into sight. Then another. Then several more. They resembled bulls, but walked only on their hind legs and moved very humanlike. Some held heavy stone weapons, all were greatly musclebound. Stanley recognized them immediately. The Manotaurs.

"Friends!" Stanley shouted with a smile. He pointed his crossbow away. "Golly am I glad to see you!"

The Manotaurs didn't seem to return the favor. "What are you?" One shouted. "What are you doing in our territory? Get out or die!"

Stanley could have slapped himself. He was so desperate for something familiar from home that he had forgotten briefly that these weren't the same Manotaurs he knew from home. These were strangers, and if his experiences with the mermaids and gnomes here had taught him anything, likely very hostile.

And he couldn't afford hostile, not with Tom already ready to kill him.

"I seek no problems with you, great Manotaurs!" Stanley said, putting his crossbow away and putting up his hands. "I am a human, by the name of Stanley Pines. I would just like to leave in peace."

"Peace?" One Manotaur bellowed. "What would we want peace for? We are might, we are Manotaur! You are just a weak human. And all alone." Several of the other Manotaurs chuckled darkly.

"He's not alone." A voice said ominously above. "Mess with him and you mess with me."

The Manotaurs looked up to see Tom floating high above, casting a purple light down on everything in sight. A scared mumbling took over the crowd of testosterone junkies. "It's a demon!" One shouted.

"Tom, don't hurt them." Stanley asked of the demon. "They are innocent in all of this."

But Tom seemed to ignore them. His hands suddenly caught fire, blue flames casting contrasting light to the purple light that Tom cast himself. "I don't care about innocence." He said, his voice carrying like a whisper. "I want blood."

Then the world exploded.

The flames shot from Tom's hands, hitting the lead Manotaur, and the poor creature disintegrated almost instantly. The others scattered. Two ran at Stanley, but Tom was too powerful, too fast. They were lifted from the ground through Bill's power, then slammed into a nearby tree. A beam of light shot from Tom's eye and hit the two Manotaurs, and they two were disintegrated.

Stanley was horrified. He hadn't even seen Bill do anything like this. This wasn't like Tom at all.

"Tom you need to stop this! You are killing people!" He shouted, waving his arms. "Stop now!"

Tom rolled his eye, all the while casually killing more of them. "They are in the way. I'm dealing with a problem. Just shut up and stay out of this." He snapped his fingers and then Stanley collapsed, unconscious.

When Stanley came to, everything was quiet. He sat up, rubbing his head. What had happened? He looked around and saw carnage and destruction. Most of the plant life had been burned or destroyed in one way or the other for about one hundred yards in every direction, leaving him alone in a clearing of death. A few feet to his left Stanley saw a broken horn laying in the dirt. A Manotaur horn.

"Tom, what did you do?" Stanley asked out loud as he got to his feet. He drew his crossbow once again and walked towards the surviving trees in the distance. After a few minutes he heard a familiar voice, crying.

"Please don't run away! I'm not going to hurt you!" Tom wailed.

Stanley ran to catch up to Tom and whoever he was talking to. He found Tom, looking normal once again, trying to approach a frightened Manotaur. The Manotaur was on the ground trying to crawl away.

"Leave me alone, you monster!" the beast wailed. "You killed them all! Just let me live, please!"

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked, childlike worry in his voice. "I just want to help you."

Stanley casually shot the Manotaur in the leg. He hadn't forgotten that they had tried to kill him. The Manotaur let out a cry of pain.

"Oh shut up." Stanley said. "It's just your leg. Tom, are you ok?"

"Why did you shoot him?" Tom asked quietly. "He's scared, and harmless. You didn't need to shoot him."

"So he can't run away." Stanley answered. "Now are you ok?"

"I was, then you disappeared. What happened to you? Where did you go, Stanley?"

Stanley gasped. "Do you not remember anything? What you did?"

"What do you mean? What did I do?"

Stanley was about to tell him, then stopped. Tom was a fragile being, having been a child for all eternity. He would have a lot of trouble accepting what he had done, since he didn't remember anything.

"You didn't do anything, Tom." He lied. "I stepped away for a minute, that's all."

"Well can you help him?" Tom asked. "He's scared, and now he's hurt."

"I'll help him, as soon as he tells me something worthwhile." Stanley responded, turning back to the Manotaur. "I know you know something. Where is the portal?"

The Manotaur laughed through his teeth, the pain causing him to grimace. "Even if I did know anything, I wouldn't tell you, filthy human. An ally of demons is an enemy of mine."

Stanley put the crossbow up to the Manotaur's head. "Don't make me have to ask again."

"You think death scares me? Do you think YOU scare me? You are foolishly mistaken, human known as Stanley."

Stanley sighed, then moved it to the Manotaur's hand then shot again. The Manotaur screamed, his hand stuck into the ground.

"I am a highly qualified expert of mammal anatomy, and I have studied your species for a long time." Stanley informed the Manotaur. "I know how to cause you lots of pain, and I know how to do it so that you won't die. Tell me what I want to know."

"Okay, okay!" The Manotaur wailed. "Just stop! I'll tell you!"

Stanley kicked his leg. "Then talk!"

"I don't know much, but I do know that there is something…. Weird…. That is a few miles from here. I haven't seen it myself, but I've heard some of the older Manotuars speak of some mysterious thing, something that is protected by a monster."

"Where is this?" Stanley asked.

"What is the monster?" Tom asked loudly, fear in his eyes.

The Manotaur looked back and forth between them. He appeared confused. Then he finally said, "The monster has been our enemy for many generations. We call it… The Multibear."

**What did you think? Let me know in the reviews, and be sure to follow, fave, and check out my other stuff!**

"**It's a total load of Shmebulock!" sums up this finale in the best way possible. I had made a promise to myself before watching the final episode that if this was even just a solid episode, not even great, just solid, then I would consider it to have passed up Avatar: The Last Airbender for my all-time favorite show. This finale had quite some big expectations, and boy did it meet them. This finale was just plain awesome. For starters, in the background we saw most (not quite all but almost) of all of the characters we had met over the past four years, and many of them even had speaking lines. It was amazing to hear from characters such as Tad Strange, wax Larry King's disembodied head, Robbie's parents, and so many others that in any other family might have gotten background cameos at best. But you can really tell that the creative crew for this show truly cared about every facet of this show and all of the minor characters and wanted to spend just a little bit of time with them before we go. That is really, really cool and you can almost feel their love for what they made and the times they had making this through the screen. Next, it was just plain awesome. It was a giant battle, complete with the craziness of Weirdmageddon as well as the regular weirdness and quirkiness that has been present since the beginning. Everything that Gravity Falls excels in was on full display: incredible humor, great animation, beloved characters, lots of development, and feels for days. There were great moments for all of the characters that the show needed to have a big finish for, namely the ten people that happened to be in the circle all getting a great sendoff. Especially Stan. To sum it up, they went out in the best way possible, with you feeling content with how they went out even though you want more. But now I can safely say that Gravity Falls was as close to a perfect show as I have ever seen. Was it perfect? No. Was the finale? Actually, I think there were some issues with it, even though I really loved it. But I'll cover my problems with it in the next chapter (because why not? I can draw this out, I got time). For now though, I just have to say that no show has ever captured the pure essence of wonder quite like this one did. Thank you, Gravity Falls.**

**Until next time, guys! - Darthlane**

"**I think I'm dark and tortured for REAL now!"**

"**I'll 'grammar Stanley' you!"**

**That entire sequence of Soos teaching McGucket about anime was pure gold. Also, I figure the Shacktron is homage to Evangelion or Pacific Rim, but I want it to be homage to Gurren Lagann SOOOOOO BAD!**

"**We have- Sev'ral injuries!"**

"**Shh! Shh! Stress will make you chewy."**

**How can you NOT ship Blubbs and Durland?**

"**The end of the world has never been so comfortable!"**

"**But since that's impossible- Is that impossible? Ok probably impossible, …"**

**Abuelita already having everything packed was a really nice visual gag.**

"**Touch the hillbilly."**

**See you next summer. See you next summer indeed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this out, unfortunately this chapter suffered from some scheduling issues with the other stories I am working on (please check them out if you like my writing) and this chapter ended up being pushed back a little bit. But it's here now, better late than never. Now, in the last chapter I mentioned that I would bring up my issues with the finale. Keep in mind that I still LOVED the finale, these are just a few small things that are just me nagging for perfection if anything. So don't think I hate the finale or anything because of this, because I don't by any means. If you don't care, go ahead and skip to the story below.**

**Dipper and Mabel didn't really didn't do much in the final battle. Considering that so much of this series has been about those two amazing characters and their relationship, I thought that they would have been more instrumental to defeating Bill than they actually were. But on the flipside we got more Stan-Stanford so at least it wasn't in vain.**

**Bill and his motives. So in the end Bill just ends up being an ancient evil just wanting power, the great cliché of villains. This is kind of sad, considering that everything about him just screamed "NOT CLICHÉ". What was Bill in the end, beyond just a demon? Why was he so important? What is his backstory? We don't know, which leads to my next complaint…**

**Not much is answered. This is a series that thrived on plot twists and mysteries, much like Lost. Only unlike Lost Gravity Falls could Stan Pines it up and distract you so that you forget about the numerous other mysteries of this show so that not everyone is pissed about the unanswered questions like they were with Lost.**

**The circle ended up being meaningless. Since the very first episode we have seen that circle with Bill in the middle and the ten symbols surrounding it. It has been one of the most theorized things about the show, leading to all sorts of ideas about the meaning of it and each character's relationship to it. And in the finale they finally bring it out, a shiny weapon to defeat Bill! Aaaaaaaaand then nothing. I feel like the whole thing was just some joke Alex Hirsh played on all of us, just making us think it was more important than it actually was. Well played, Alex.**

**Final one, Stan's sacrifice. This moment was huge for me, I loved every second of it. That is, until it was over. They revealed that Stan had lost his memory. I personally feel like it would have had a more emotional impact if he had been left in a vegetable state (I know, it's dark, but it's not like the show has avoided being dark before) and there was no hope of him returning, leaving Ford to take care of the kids until they went home. It would have been a really emotional but satisfying finale to Stan's character arc, with him sacrificing everything to protect his family. But instead they merely had him lose his memory. That isn't quite as final as the vegetable option, but it is still very satisfying and has a big emotional punch of the seriousness of his sacrifice. But I think that they made a mistake bringing his memory back, at least so quickly. Not to say that I don't want Stan to have his memory back, he is one of my favorite characters after all, but I think it takes away from the importance, the weight of his sacrifice. I mean, after he gets his memory back there might as well not have been a sacrifice in the first place. it makes the second-best scene in the entire show meaningless, and I don't want it to be.**

**So that was my negative feedback on the finale, sorry it was so long winded. I know you came for a story not my rambling. So I'll give you that. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

Stan pulled up to the house, barely able to see the dark house in the fading light. He turned off the car, getting out. The ground was soggy, since it had rained hard the past few hours. But now it was quiet, as everything picked itself back up after being battered around by the storm. He walked through the picket gate and shouted, "Hey kid! I brought you something!" He held up a soggy brown bag. "You like burgers right?"

There was no answer, but Stan didn't really expect one. The kid was paranoid, so he would probably be watching Stan from afar until he felt it was safe. Stan would just have to wait. "Damn kid." He muttered, dropping the bag into his seat. "He's been messed up pretty bad." And whose fault was that? McGucket's.

Stan kept waiting, and he was starting to wonder if maybe he was wrong. "Kid? You there?" No response.

Stan decided he would just go inside and see if the kid was there. He walked up to the door and knocked. There wasn't an answer, but he hadn't really expected one. The door turned out to be unlocked, so he pushed it open. Inside was chaos.

Everything had been thrown around inside. Dressers were overturned. The pictures that had been on the wall were scattered on the floor. Papers were everywhere. Stan slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife, flicking it open. He didn't know what had done this, but whatever or whoever it was might still be here.

"Hello?" He called out, walking carefully towards a room. "Kid? You in here?" The room turned out to be what had once been the living room of the house. There was an upside down, broken TV, and a couch that had been split in half. Stuffing was spilling out everywhere. A book shelf had been overturned, and books were scattered all over the room. Stan carefully made his way over them, walking through a doorway. Inside was the kitchen, in similar disarray.

It was the same throughout the rest of the house, and no one, not even Tate, were inside.

Stan sat down on half of the couch. There was a chance that it was Tate that had done this, but Stan didn't think so. He didn't seem the type to trash his own house like this. So if it wasn't him, then who? And had this mystery person taken Tate with them? Had the kid been kidnapped?

Stan glanced down at the mess. The way everything had been destroyed and thrown around almost seemed to have a reason to it. The way some things were messed with, like the couch being opened, made it seem almost as if they had been looking for something. Had McGucket hidden something here? And if he had, did whatever had been in here find it?

But that didn't matter right now. The kid was missing, and Stan had to find him. Hopefully there was a clue here somewhere. He began picking up papers and books, reading whatever he could find. Most of the papers were blank, with a few that had scientific stuff on it that Stan had no hope of understanding. Well, at least he had the right nerd house. This was definitely one of Stanley's friends.

Most of the books were math junk, with just a few sciency stuff and theory mumbo jumbo to keep it somewhat interesting. But overall Stan wasn't really finding anything that he would have considered out of the ordinary for a guy like McGucket, and certainly nothing that would be worth destroying the house over and possibly kidnapping someone.

Stan was about to give up finding anything when a book slipped off of a bookshelf, falling open. The page it had opened to had a paper stuck in it. The page looked like it had been ripped out of another book, but Stan could tell that there were scribbles all over it. He picked up the book. He noticed that it was a book about anomalies. Stan remembered his brother being obsessed with stuff like this, studying nonstop. It brought back memories. In fact, it really did bring back memories. This book looked familiar. He flipped it open to the front cover, and written inside was _Stanley Pines _in a very elegant scrawl. Hell, this was Stanley's old book!

Stan flipped back to the ripped page, and tried to decipher what was written upon it. A lot of it was hard to read, but he could see a small handful of legible words here and there. "Lake." Stan read out loud. "Under. Uh, Gravity." He squinted hard at one word. It seemed like a name. "Larry… Smith." Nothing else could be made out.

"Lake." Stan repeated, thinking. "Lake. Gravity. Wait, the old lake! Maybe something is at the lake!" he considered for a moment. Was this what whoever had caused this mess had been after? What was at the Gravity Falls lake? "Son of a bitch. What were you up to, you crazy hermit?"

He started heading to the door, book still in hand. This was probably nothing, but it was still easily his best lead. He glanced at the book in his hand. It had been his brother's book. For whatever reason Stan wanted to hold onto this. He could give it to Stanley when he returned. Thirty years….

He was shaken from his thoughts when the door creaked open in front of him. With quickness Stan didn't know that he possessed, he leapt behind the wall. Not daring to breathe, he peeked around the corner.

In the doorway stood a kid. Stan was about to let out a sigh of relief until he realized that this wasn't Tate McGucket. This kid was different, no one that Stan had ever met. And strangely, had yellow eyes. Stan rubbed his eyes, sure he was seeing things. But no, the kid did indeed have yellow eyes. What was going on?

The kid looked around the house. The kid muttered. "I ALWAYS know a mess, and somebody changed mine. Who was here, I wonder?" He began walking further inside, towards where Stan was. Stan, as quietly as he could, slipped around to the other door in the room, the one that led to the kitchen. It was quite a task, with all sorts of things littering the floor. But he got across the mess, and slipped through the door right as the kid entered the living room.

To Stan's horror, the door creaked. The kid's head darted around, yellow eyes zeroing in on the kitchen door. Stan got aggravated with himself for a moment. What was he doing hiding from a kid? Hell, the kid should be hiding from him! What did he have to be scared of?

Then Stan saw the kid's eyes again, and he was reminded why he was hiding. Stan didn't know what the hell this kid was, but it couldn't be human. Those were eyes of a damn predator, one that knew an unsuspecting prey had wandered into its lair. Yet at the same time there was a cold logic and intelligence to those eyes, one that was most definitely not animal. This was something much, much more than that.

Stan frantically looked for a hiding spot. The kid was drawing closer. He jumped into the nearby closet and slipped it shut silently. The kitchen door creaked open and the kid's head peered in, turning slowly to look around the room. The closet that Stan was hiding in was the kind with the notches in it so that it was possible to look through, so Stan stood petrified, scared out of his mind that this monster that looked like a child might not see him.

"No one's here." The kid said softly. "Eh, I must be hearing things. Human bodies are stupid like that." He let out a bone chilling laugh, then left the room. Stan's body moved of its own accord, leaving the closet and following behind. He didn't know why, but for whatever reason he had to know what this kid was doing here.

So he followed along silently, hoping to God he wasn't making a huge mistake. He couldn't help but be angry at himself. This was such a ridiculous risk. It was so stupid. What would Stanley say? What would he do?

No. He couldn't think like that. Stanley wasn't here, it was just him, Stan. Instead, he had to ask: what would Stan do? He knew his own strengths, his own weaknesses. He knew how he wanted to deal with the situation.

And dammit, if that meant tailing a creepy little demon kid around a spooky house, then he was damn well going to do it.

Stan chuckled inwardly. He bet Stanley had never done this.

The kid whistled as he left the living room into the hall. Stan followed a distance behind, listening close and always making sure he had somewhere he could hide in a pinch. He may be Stan Fucking Pines, Taker of Huge Risks, but that didn't mean he had to be stupid about it.

"Still can't find it." The kid muttered. "I know he has the location hidden somewhere. He would have wanted to keep it somewhere in case he zapped it out of his head. But I can't go and ask him, not when he's like the way he is. Hmmm, where could he have kept it?" He leaned a large dresser over with ease, showing strength far beyond that of a child his size. The contents spilled everywhere, and the kid searched among the newest mess, trying to find whatever he was looking for.

Thoughts raced through Stan's head. Location? That was what that monster thing was looking for? Stan realized something. The lake. What if that was what the kid was looking for? It was certainly a location, and McGucket had hidden it in a spot he must have known he would check again if he ever regained his sanity. So this had to be the place that the kid was looking for. But what was there? What was McGucket hiding from everyone? Why did this not-a-kid want to find it so bad that he would tear apart the house for it?

Something was up. Stan felt like he had landed in something much larger than his brother had said. "Didn't mention any of this crap, Stanley." Why did there have to be conspiracies? Stan hated that kind of stuff. He liked something simpler, more manly. Like sports. But all the lying, and secrets, and politics, he didn't want to deal with any of that. Stanley would always make his life miserable, wouldn't he?

The kid made his way up the stairs to the side of the hall. Stan didn't know what was up there, but he hoped it was enough to keep the thing occupied. Now was his chance. Stan quietly made his way to the front door, slipping through like a thief. He was free for now.

He snuck across the yard to his car. Thankfully the kid hadn't noticed the fact that there was a vehicle here when it shouldn't have been, leaving Stan with only the problem of driving away without the kid noticing.

He quickly got into the car, starting it up. He winced as the engine revved up, taking too long in his opinion to start. The kid was going to hear this, he just knew it. Hurry up, hurry up. He let out a huge sigh of relief as the old car started, the engine grumbling loudly. He glanced at the front door. The kid wasn't there. Stan kicked it into reverse and spun the car around, throwing dust everywhere. He kicked it into drive then sped away from that house.

Stan glanced at his watch. It was almost eleven. Much too late to go investigating. It would be better to leave the lake for tomorrow and just rest for tonight. Today had been a really taxing day. Stan supposed he had better head back to his brother's house. Technically, it was his house now.

Huh. His house. What was he going to do with it?

Bill laughed as he watched the car pull away from the house. "Stupid human. Did he really think that I didn't know he was here?" He was standing in front of the upstairs window, grinning as he watched the other pines twin leave. "Now that he found the location for me, I can just follow him to wherever he goes and let him do all the work to finding it!" he laughed maniacally. "Being an evil genius is so good!"

**What did you think? Let me know with a review, and if you liked it fave + follow!**

**Well now that we are past the show, I'm not sure what to talk about anymore. What do you guys want me to say in my author's notes now that the show is over? Do you even want me to HAVE author's notes? Please let me know in the reviews. Also, I am now in a competition for Avatar/Legend of Korra stories, so I am posting a one shot every two weeks as part of the competition. If you are fans of the series and you want to cheer me on, then please check them out. Also, if you have any ideas on what you want me to do in the future of this story (I have SOOOO many possibilities, so it would be good to get some feedback from my audience on where they want this to go) please let me know. And don't forget to come over to the dark side (we have cookies!) - Darthlane**


	13. Chapter 13

**Man has it been awhile. What's up guys? It's been months since we spoke last. I'm sorry for the big hiatus, but I just felt like I was running out of gas with this story, and I was busy with other stuff. You know how it is, I just had to get away from it for a little bit and give it some fresh air. But now it's back! Hope this is a refreshing return!**

"That's it." Stanley said in a hushed whisper, peering through bushes. "The Multibear." The massive creature lay in the mouth of a cave, slumbering. As the name implied, it had several bear heads and limbs sprouting out of all parts of its body, creating a grotesque morph of deadly ferocity.

How were they supposed to get past?

"It's big, Stanley." Tom remarked. "And scary. What do we do?"

"I think I have an idea, but it will involve you being a distraction. Are you prepared for that?"

Tom's eye grew wide. "A distraction? You mean you want it to come at me? No, no, no, no. I don't like this one bit."

Stanley sighed. Getting through to him would be near impossible. "Tom, I need you to. You're a demon. You can escape him. I can't. The only way I'm going to be able to get in there is if you give me a chance."

Tom shook his head vigorously. "I don't like this- "

He was cut off when Stanley yelled out, "Hey! Ugly! Over here!"

The Multibear woke up, looking in all directions to see what had caused the noise. "Who's there?" one of his many voices called out. "Show yourself!"

"No, this is bad!" Tom squealed. "I'm out of here!" He zoomed through the air away from the Multibear.

The Multibear noticed the flying triangle and roared. "Hey! You ruined my nap! The least you could do is apologize! Get back here." Muscles rippled as the gigantic monster stood up, and launched into pursuit. Stanley shifted so that he was hidden behind the tree next to him, and a moment later the Multibear ran past. Thankfully, Stanley went unnoticed. He waited until the Multibear had gotten some distance away, then scrambled to his feet and towards the cave.

As he crept into the Multibear's home, glancing behind himself to make sure that it was still clear, Stanley pondered what the Multibear had said. Stanley had gotten used to this dimension being rather…. aggressive. Almost every creature he had come across had been a darker, more vicious version of their Gravity Falls counterparts. But for whatever reason, the Multibear had been largely the same as before. He wasn't out to hurt Tom from what he had said, although it was still possible. He just wanted an apology. He craved manners from someone who had disturbed him, something the Gravity Falls Multibear would have wanted as well. Was Stanley just reading too much into that one little detail of what the Multibear had said, or was there something different here? Stanley couldn't tell.

Inside the cave it was almost too dark to see, but Stanley could make out just enough to move forward. He knew this was the right place, because there was a strange, faint blueish purple light from farther into the cave. Stanley couldn't quite see where it was coming from yet, but that had to be the portal.

Minutes later, Stanley had still not reached it. He was growing confused. He had been able to see the light almost since the entrance. It couldn't possibly be that far away. Could it? Or was something else at work here.

"I see you have found your way into my cave." Came a voice behind him.

Stanley whirled around to find the Multibear, barely visible from the light deeper within the cave. The Multibear was forced to lower its body almost to the ground due to the low roof, so that it was nearly dragging itself. As limited as its movement surely was by the enclosed roof and walls, Stanley knew that he had little chance against this beast in a fight.

"I assume you are after the portal? You shall not get to it." The Multibear said.

"What did you do with Tom?" Stanley demanded, backing away slowly.

"The demon?" The Multibear asked, puzzled. "He escaped easily. He's far too fast for me to catch. Were you working with him? I'm afraid to inform you that he has abandoned you. What a shame. No one deserves friends like that."

"You don't know anything about him." Stanley said defensively. "and you can't stop me from reaching the portal!" He turned and ran. "You can't catch me in this cave, you can barely move as it is!"

"Can't I?" The Multibear said. To Stanley's surprise, the Multibear was now in front of him, blocking the path to the portal. "I think I can catch near anything in this cave that I want to. Do you not know where you are?"

Stanley thought back to what he had seen here. The way he never seemed to get closer to the portal. The Multibear suddenly catching up to him, even though he logically should never have been able to catch up. And most mysterious of all, teleporting ahead of Stanley when he tried to run.

Something was definitely up here.

"Some kind of spacial reality warp?" Stanley asked. "Is that what this cave is?"

"I don't know what that is, but I do know this cave is magic." The Multibear answered. "It is mine, and I control what happens to it. Trespassers like yourself find themselves trapped, unable to go on farther and unable to return. I can go from the entrance to the deepest part in a second. I control all here. It's rather unfortunate that you chose to try to enter the portal. You will never reach your goal."

"So this is it, huh?" Stanley muttered. "Guess you might as well kill me then." He held out his arms open wide, embracing the death that awaited him. Poor Stan. He had let him down.

"Kill you?" The Multibear asked, surprised. "I don't want to kill you. I just want to protect you from the portal."

"Protect me from the portal?" Stanley repeated. What about it did he need protecting from?

Before he could ask for more information, a high pitched noise came from behind Stanley. He turned around to see Tom flying at him at tremendous speed, squealing to produce the noise that Stanley had heard. Tom collided into Stanley, knocking the breath out of the latter. But they kept flying ahead. Stanley suddenly felt a weird tingling sensation that he could barely register as everything flew by at a blur while he tried to regain his breath. But then suddenly they were past a very shocked Multibear. Stanley realized that they must have phased through him.

"No! A demon's magic is too powerful!" The Multibear yelled. "I can't stop them!"

Stanley crumpled to the ground as Tom dropped him. He shakily got back up, realizing that he had reached his destination. Before him was the portal, a giant swirl on the far wall comprised of a cascade of colors and lights.

"Wait! You can't go through!" The Multibear called out. "I'm trying to protect you! Please! It's far too dangerous!"

"As if I'm going to trust you!" Stanley yelled back. He glanced at Tom. "Let's go, buddy." Then he jumped in, hoping that he had made the right decision.

**That was a pretty short chapter, at least for this story. Just didn't have much I wanted to put into this one, mainly just wanted to get out of that dimension as soon as I could. See, when I originally envisioned the Stanley chapters, I saw them as a sort of Rick &amp; Morty esque "here's a new world!" for each chapter, with Stanley discovering tons of different places and possibly even having crossovers with other things like Steven Universe or, ironically, Rick &amp; Morty. So this whole dark version of every creature world idea was fun at first, but I really just wanted to get on to other things. Sorry if any of you wanted to stay a bit longer and see some of the other things that showed up in the show, but I was tired of it (And I hold all of the power! BWAHAHAHA!). But there are some interesting things moving forward, which I hope you guys like. Also, regarding the future, don't expect the updates to come that often. I'm not abandoning this story by any means, but at the moment it has lower priority to some other stuff I'm working on. I hope you understand. So, until next time. Bye!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello and welcome to "Chapter 14" of Through the Portal! This isn't going to be an actual chapter of the story, however, just a message from me. I don't know how far into this story it happened, but I stopped feeling the magic of it. The first chapter, the one that was 10,000 words, is possibly my favorite thing I've ever written, and it will always hold a special place for me personally. Then I had some people ask for me to continue, and I was more than happy to. Between Stan finding crazy things in Gravity Falls and spending his time trying to return his brother, and Ford going on a million adventures throughout the multiverse, I had a lot I could do. And I enjoyed it, for a while. I think it was Ford's adventures, trying to make a plan out of literally anything, that kinda tired me out on the story. I could do absolutely anything, like in Rick and Morty. And in fact, coming across Rick (as per the fan theory) was one of the things I wanted to integrate down the road. But while I had a tight, mystery drama going on with Stan surviving and discovering the mysteries of the town, Ford's journey was getting a weekly adventure type of feel to me, where I could do anything, but that made me feel like I had to do everything. I know that it wasn't necessarily the case, but it still felt daunting, like I had to do every kind of story, take on any kind of monster or idea, and I was tired of it when I had barely started. Through the Portal started to feel like more of a chore to me than other stories I was working on did. It ended up on the back burner while I was attacking other stories that felt more fun to me to write, and now its been on the backburner for a while. I think I'm going to officially put this story on hiatus. This DOES NOT mean that it is ending, and it does not mean that I am going to abandon it. I'm not the type to give up on what I start. I WILL return, but for now, I want to concentrate on other things. Honestly, it won't be that different than it has been, since it's been a while since I posted anything for this. When I do start again, I will probably post Chapter 14 over this, and this message will be gone. I will also probably edit it so that the names are correct. I will be back, and this story will continue, but I am officially taking a break from this one. If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading my story and reading what I had to say here. If you like my style of writing, I have a handful of other stories you might enjoy, from Avatar: The Last Airbender to Star Wars, from Harry Potter to Undertale. I've also been dabbling into writing songs, and I've written songs for a ton of tv shows, video games, anime, etc. This includes three Gravity Falls related ones (one about Bill Cipher, one about Stan, and one about Dipper) so if you are interested in that, please check those out. Also, if you are interested, I now have a Youtube channel that I upload regularly, mostly LetsPlays at the moment, but it will be expanding to more types of content over time ( at ** channel/UCPwLY7DuCLRqUx1AVDh9dsw** ).**

**So until I return, bye!**


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